


Tuebor

by breakdancingsigma (hetawholockvengerstuck)



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Asakure is included but not the main focus, Blood, Gen, Mild Gore, Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-02-09 16:53:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1990452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hetawholockvengerstuck/pseuds/breakdancingsigma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Junko is killed in front of the students, Hagakure charges himself with preventing any more murders. But even with his relatively high accuracy rate, the job may be too much for one man to handle...</p><p>(Contains spoilers for all of Dangan Ronpa)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a response to the following prompt:
> 
> "I'd like to see Hagakure predicting murders. Like, intentionally going into his room and making prediction after prediction after prediction in an attempt to get something useful. Of course, the boy's only got a 20% accuracy rate, but still. If you run stuff like "Who is the next murder victim?" and "Where will it take place?" enough times, you're sure to get some little nugget of truth. 
> 
> I'd especially like it if Hagakure runs himself ragged attempting to act on those predictions. He stays up all night outside possible crime scenes even though they only showed up in his predictions once or twice. He makes off with weapons, sidetracks victims, that sort of thing. 
> 
> My one request is that he not have a perfect success rate. Maybe not even a very good success rate..."
> 
> The title of this work is Latin for "I will defend."

He didn't believe, at first. There was nothing in his predictions that foretold murder.

That all changed when Junko was killed. Seeing her stabbed through like that, it was undeniable: this killing game was no joke. It wasn't even a game.

So while everyone else set to investigating, Hagakure went back to his room and predicted.

He spent the entire two hours tuning out the physical world, examining scenario after scenario, keeping a tally of the number of times each prediction popped up. He used his tarot cards, his crystal ball, even a set of animal bones. He checked star charts and yarrow stalks, tea leaves, even numerology. 

During the trial, he spent less time listening to the debate and more time doing cold readings on each of his classmates, trying to find answers in their auras (something he was never good at, and hardly believed in; he figured it was worth a shot). He wasn't surprised when Leon was executed, because he'd seen it earlier.

After the trial, when everyone was in shock, he returned to his room. It was going to be hard to clear his mind; he needed to purge all thoughts of the day, so he could get good reception when the dreams came. 

He spent the next day (after the breakfast meeting) sorting through all the notes he'd taken the night before, sketching out a plan of action. When they all came together for dinner that evening, he sat at the end of the table, where he could get a clear view of everyone's face. Once his classmates left, he hurried into the kitchen and grabbed all the knives, then hid them in his bathroom under a towel. 

And then the second floor opened up.


	2. Daily Life

"...Therefore, I've decided to give you all another motive!" Monokuma cackled. 

When the envelopes were handed out, Hagakure barely glanced at his. Instead, he looked at the faces of his classmates, gauging their reactions. 

 _Okay, man,_ he thought to himself,  _twenty-four hours. All you gotta do is keep them from killing anyone for twenty-four hours, and the motive will be a moot point._

Ishimaru spoke up. "We should all just tell each other our secrets, right now! Then they won't have any power over us!"

"Are you st-st-stupid or something?" Fukawa hissed. 

"Making a lady reveal her secrets? How crude," Celes sighed.

"Taka's right!" Hagakure said. "Come on, we've all got secrets, so we're all on the same page, right?"

No one paid him any attention. 

* * *

In the end, they didn't tell their secrets. Instead of exploring the second floor again, with everyone else, Hagakure went back to his room, this time to try and discover who would be willing to kill to keep a secret. 

Ishimaru was probably safe; not once had a prediction indicated that the hall monitor was the culprit. When Hagakure focused on the current motive, the results started to shift; he wrote them down, not fully registering what he was seeing until he looked at his notepad, covered in his neat calligraphy, and read:

_Low-risk: Taka, Naegi, Kiri, Aoi, Hifumin_

_Medium-risk: Byakun, Chihi, Ogre_

_High-risk: Mondo, Celes, Kawa_

So he went back to work, skipping lunch and dinner, trying to figure out what the most likely scenario was. 

_He saw the locker room, the glint of the lights off metal, blood splattering across a poster, a tiny, limp form curled up on the floor..._

Hagakure bolted for the door.

* * *

When he entered the locker room, the first thing he looked for was a body. When that failed to turn up, the next thing he registered was the scowling boy sitting on the bench. 

"The fuck are you doing here, Hagakure?" Mondo growled. 

"Uh...just thought I'd take a nap here! Yeah, a nap."

"You do realize that's against the rules, right? Ya'd be killed."

_Dang, gonna need a better cover-up!_

"Um...hey, what are you doing here? Waiting for someone, maybe?"

"None of your fuckin' business."

Hagakure forced a laugh. "Y'know, I thought I saw Chihi on her way here--"

"Who the hell's Chihi?"

"Fujisaki-chi!"

"Oh, that kid? What of it?"

"Well, I know this is kind of a weird question, but--"

Behind Hagakure, the door opened. "Sorry I'm late, Oowada-kun! I ran into...Celes..." Chihiro's voice trailed off. 

Hagakure stared at Chihiro, then looked at the e-Handbook in the programmer's hands. Suddenly, the missing piece clicked into place. 

"You're a dude!" Hagakure shouted. "You're in a dress, but you're a dude!"

"Tone it down, asshole!" Mondo shouted back. "D'ya wanna wake the whole school up?"

"It's okay, Oowada-kun," Chihiro said, placing his duffle bag in a cubby. "I-I guess everyone would have found out eventually...You're right, Hagakure-kun, I'm a boy."

"Well, ya had me fooled!" Hagakure laughed again. "You look just like a girl in that uniform! All dainty and cute, nothing like Mondo over here!"

The gang leader thwacked Hagakure on the head. "You just don't know when to stop, do ya? Look what ya did!"

Sure enough, there were tears in Chihiro's eyes. Mondo pushed past Hagakure and awkwardly patted Chihiro's shoulder. "Hey, stop crying, it's making me nervous. We're gonna fix all that, right?"

 _So he knew about Chihiro,_ Hagakure thought.  _This can't be right. There's no reason for him to want to kill Chihi..._

Chihiro wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled. "I guess I should explain myself, shouldn't I?" 

Hagakure sat and listened to what the programmer had to say, casting glances at Mondo periodically. There was one moment when the gang leader seemed on edge, clenching his hands into fists and growling ever so slightly, and that's when Hagakure spoke up.

"I don't get it."

Both Chihiro and Mondo seemed startled, and more than a little confused. "I-I'm sorry, I g-guess I wasn't being clear enough..."

"No, I just don't get why you have to beef up. I mean, Chihi, all muscly? That's weird!" 

"You're one to talk," Mondo snorted; Hagakure noted, with relief, that his demeanor was much more relaxed.

"Yeah! You don't have to be big and strong to by manly! Sometimes the strongest people aren't very strong at all!"

A fire lit in Mondo's eyes.  _Oops, wrong thing to say!_

"What are ya tryin' to say, punk?" the gang leader shouted. "Ya sayin' I'm weak or something?"

"No, no! Not at all! Please don't hit me!"

But Mondo wasn't listening. He cracked his knuckles and advanced. "You wanna go? You wanna fuckin' go, you psychic freak?!"

"Oowada-kun! Please!"

At the sound of Chihiro's voice, Mondo seemed to snap out of it. He dropped his hands to his sides. "Sorry, kid. Maybe we should just get to training."

Chihiro fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve. "Actually, Oowada-kun...I think Hagakure-kun is right. I mean, both of you accepted me for who I am, even though I'm not strong. Maybe...maybe everyone else will, too."

"Sure they will!' Hagakure said, fighting back relieved laughter. "I'm about seventy percent sure that's a thing that will happen!"

"And if anyone says otherwise, I'll deck 'em for ya," Mondo said with a smile. "Just...if you change your mind, you know where to find me."

Hagakure sighed, body relaxing now that death didn't seem imminent for anyone in the locker room. But something still bothered him...

"Wait!" He shot out of his seat, startling the programmer. "Who did you say you saw on the way here?"

"U-u-um, Celes-san...why...?"

"Where'd you see her?"

"In the storeroom. What's wrong, Hagakure-kun?"

"Can't explain, gotta run!" 

* * *

_How could I be so stupid? Celes is on the high-risk list, and if she's breaking the nighttime rule...I mean, I'm doing the same thing, but it's not like I'm going to...is she...?_

There was no one in the storeroom. 

_Where would she go? Maybe you're over-thinking this, Yasuhiro. Maybe she just needed tea or a pillow or something. Maybe it's her time of the month, and she needed supplies. There could be any number of completely non-lethal explanations..._

"Is there something wrong, Hagakure-kun?"

He whipped around at the sound of Celes's voice. She was blocking the doorway, head tilted slightly to the side, looking at him quizzically. "No, no, nothing wrong! Just looking for, uh, tea leaves!"

Celes raised an eyebrow and stepped nearer to him.  _Crap, she doesn't believe me. She's gonna kill me, I don't wanna die..._

"There's a disparaging lack of tea in here, actually. When I came looking earlier, I found only a few boxes of  _common_ tea packets."

"I-Is that so?"

"Yes, but it looked as if someone else had come and taken quite a lot of tea. I thought perhaps you might have done so--unless you do not practice tasseomancy?"

"What's tassle omen sea?"

"Tasseomancy," Celes said, pronouncing her words slowly, "also called tasseography, is a method of divination that utilizes tea leaves to predict the future."

"Oh, that! Yeah, that's why I was looking for the tea," he lied. He had already snagged all the tea leaves for himself; they were currently stored in one of his dresser drawers.  

"Well, I'm afraid we'll both have to do without. Perhaps Monokuma will replenish the supply at some point in the future."

"Yeah." It was all he could think of to say. Celes was acting so normal; she was speaking of the future as if she planned to stay in the school. Would a murderer do that as a cover-up? Hagakure couldn't be sure; logic had never been his strong point. 

Celes glanced towards the door. "I trust that, since we are both breaking the nighttime rule, neither of us will be speaking of this?"

 _Okay, that's a little suspicious. But then again, she's sort of right_.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Uh, you haven't seen Kawa around, by any chance, have you?"

Celes looked at him with a blank expression. "Kuwata-kun is dead, Hagakure-kun. I really thought you were more perceptive than that."

"No, not him! Fukawa-chi!"

"I have not. Why?" Celes concealed her lips behind her fingers, letting out a girlish giggle. "Are you two having a midnight meeting, perhaps?"

The meaning of her words was lost on Hagakure. "Nah, just wondering. I think I'll go back to my room now."

"I'll retire, too, I suppose. Will you escort me? If Fukawa-san will not mind, of course."

"Why would she mind?"

* * *

During breakfast the next morning, Asahina, Oogami, Kirigiri, and Chihiro were all late. Hagakure pushed his food around on the plate, taking deep breaths and trying to convince himself that nothing was wrong, no one was dead, he'd made sure of that...

Then Asahina ran into the cafeteria, tears in her eyes. "I found...I found..."

She didn't need to say anything. As one, the students abandoned their breakfasts and followed Asahina to the girls' bathroom, the door of which was held open by Oogami. There, lifeless eyes staring into space, slumped against the wall under the sink, one hand tightly wrapped around the edge of the sink, the other buried in the fabric over her heart, was Kirigiri Kyouko.

_Ding dong! "A body has been discovered! Following a brief period of investigation, the school trial will commence!"_

Naegi let out a strangled cry; Fukawa screamed and turned her back; Celes gasped, and then murmured, "What a waste. She had such a talented mind." 

And Hagakure stood frozen in place, taking shallow breaths, staring at the body of his classmate.

"Hagakure? Hey, man, are you okay?" Mondo's face bobbed into view, but blackness was quickly creeping from the edge of Hagakure's vision. "Hey, say something!"

"I...failed..."

After that, Hagakure couldn't remember anything.

 


	3. Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Off-hand transphobia (courtesy of the literal-minded Togami), disrespectful handling of a body (also courtesy of Togami), vomit, and mild descriptions of the condition of a dead body.

It was hard for Naegi to investigate. Even though he hadn't had much of a chance to get to know Kirigiri Kyouko, the mysterious girl had held a special place in his heart ever since she'd tried to console him over Maizono-san's death. 

He pushed the thought aside and knelt between Togami and Oogami, who had remained with him to examine the body. 

"How is she still holding the sink if she's dead?" he asked.

Togami sneered. "I expected more of you, Naegi. Have you not heard of rigor mortis?"

"Is that when the muscles get stiff?"

"Precisely. She's been dead for at least six hours, probably closer to eight, judging by the discoloration of the skin. Her expression and position show that this wasn't a quick death, but it was fast enough that she didn't have time to close her eyes."

"There isn't any blood," Naegi commented. "And she's clutching at her heart. Do you think she had a heart attack?"

Togami shook his head. "It's a possibility, but I doubt it happened naturally." He looked up at the sink. "The water's still running. Remember that." And he reached up to turn it off.

"Excuse me?" Chihiro's voice cut through the air. "I heard the announcement. Who...?" Then the programmer leaned heavily against the doorframe. "Is she...is she really dead?"

"Yes, and you have some explaining to do." Togami stood up, looking over his glasses at Chihiro. "Where were you at breakfast? For that matter, what were your movements last night, between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.?"

"Togami-kun, give her a chance to rest," Naegi said, casting a sympathetic glance at Chihiro.

"Actually, I have something I wanted to tell everyone...I was going to do it at breakfast, but I slept in by mistake and missed Ishimaru-kun's announcement..."

"And why were you sleeping in?" Togami asked. 

"Because I was up late. I went to the locker room with Oowada-kun--"

" _With?_ That isn't possible."

"He's right, Fujisaki," Oogami rumbled. "Girls cannot enter the boys' locker room."

"That's just it," Chihiro said. "That's what I wanted to tell everyone. I'm not a girl, I'm a boy."

Togami didn't bat an eye. "How very convenient. You must realize that, if Kirigiri did die in the girls' bathroom, she could only have been killed by a girl. And now you say you're not one."

"That's the secret Monokuma was going to tell everyone! I have the envelope right here!"

"You could easily have created a fake."

Chihiro was close to tears. "I promise, I'm telling the truth!"

"Then show me."

A few moments of shocked silence followed Togami's demand. Then, at the same time, everyone shouted.

"Togami-kun, you can't ask that!"

"That is highly improper!"

"B-But I--"

"Enough!" Togami's voice boomed with authority; even Oogami went quiet. "Show me, or show Oogami if you wish. I need to be sure. If you're telling the truth, you shouldn't have anything to fear."

"That's not the point, Togami-kun." Naegi was standing now. "No one would feel comfortable showing...that...to someone they aren't close to! It's too private!"

"Then I'm forced to doubt the legitimacy of Fujisaki's statement."

"But these things can't always be proven that way! The bathrooms aren't like the locker rooms, you don't have to show ID!"

"Naegi-kun...it's okay." Chihiro sniffed. "Um...I'm sorry to ask, but I'd rather not do this here...what with Kirigiri-san..."

"A stall will do."

* * *

When Hagakure came to, he was back in his room, his jacket spread over him like a blanket. Turning his head, he saw Mondo leaning against the wall and Celes rummaging through a drawer.

"Wha's goin' on?"

"Hey, you're alive!" Mondo said.

Hagakure tried to sit up, but his head swam and his arm wobbled; before he could fall, he felt a steadying hand on his shoulder. 

"Take it easy, man. Don't push yourself."

"What happened?"

Celes spoke up. "You fainted when we discovered Kirigiri-san's body. Oowada-kun caught you, and he and Yamada-kun carried you here."

At the mention of Kirigiri, Hagakure's stomach lurched. He fumbled for the wastebasket beside his bed; catching his drift, Mondo shoved the basket into his arms and waited while Hagakure's breakfast made a return journey. Celes made a face and left the room.

When there was nothing left in his stomach, Celes returned with a glass of water. Hagakure drank slowly, trying to calm his nerves. 

"By the way, Hagakure-kun," Celes said. "You have not been completely honest with me." She held up a bundle of tea leaves.

"Ah, they got more?"

"Do not try to lie to me, Hagakure-kun. It was you who emptied the stores of tea, was it not?"

Thankful for a distraction, he laughed sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair. "You got me."

"Then I have to wonder what your  _real_ purpose was when we met in the storeroom last night."

 _Wait...wasn't she the one who said we wouldn't talk about that?_ Hagakure cast a glance at Mondo. 

"He knows, of course," Celes said. "I had to explain why I was going through your wardrobe. You truly are in need of fashion help, Hagakure-kun."

"Hey! I like my clothes!"

"Isn't all this beside the point?" Mondo growled. "A girl's just been killed, and you two are arguin' about who gets the tea leaves?"

Silence fell. Hagakure's gaze dropped to the floor--then shot back up. "Hey, Celes, where's your finger ornament?" 

The gambler looked down at her hands. "What? Oh no, where has it gone? This is terrible! Oh, I'm going to  _kill_ whoever--" For a moment, she looked absolutely terrifying; then she regained her composure, so fast it was hard to believe it had ever deserted her. "I mean, I must have misplaced it. These things happen."

_Somehow I don't believe that. Isn't that thing heavy? How could she not notice it was missing? Come to think of it, last night...was she wearing it?_

"Anyway," Celes continued, "I think I'll be taking some of your stash of tea for myself, thank you. I suggest you do something about that wastebasket; the smell is horrid."

* * *

When the storeroom had opened up, Ishimaru had taken on the enormous task of keeping stock of the supplies. It was logical, then, that the first place he look should be that room. Perhaps he would notice a missing item or two that would help to clear up the case.

He noticed the missing tea leaves, of course--quite a quantity, more than was healthy to drink in a single sitting--and there was a vacancy where before a box of candy had sat.

There was something else, though. Not a missing item, but a pile of boxes that was arranged in a rather haphazard way. When he had last checked the storeroom, everything had been neat and tidy. This was worth investigating, surely!

Ishimaru checked each of the boxes; some were sealed tightly with tape, and these he opened with a plastic knife from another box (which he marked off on his stock list). He took note of the contents of each box, in case someone could make sense out of it. When he pulled the last box from the shelf, something heavy fell to the floor with a  _clang_.

_It couldn't be..._

* * *

After Togami had received physical proof that Chihiro was, indeed, male, the programmer joined them as they inspected the body further.

"Check her pockets, Naegi," Togami ordered. "And examine her legs for injuries."

"Do I have to?"

"If you want to overlook possible evidence, be my guest."

Naegi swallowed his disgust at touching a dead body and did as he was told. Suddenly, he heard a crack and looked up.

"Wh-what...?"

Oogami growled. "How dare you? Show some respect for the dead!"

For Togami had just broken Kirigiri's fingers. He carefully lowered her arm from its position at the sink and began to work on the fingers of her right hand.

"Togami-kun, stop!"

"She's dead, Naegi. She doesn't need them, but  _we_ need to get a look at her torso. She may have been stabbed by a very small blade, or there may be blood that didn't soak through her jacket. I don't like touching a corpse, either, but I want the full picture." As he spoke, he succeeded in pulling Kirigiri's hand away from her chest. "Nothing in her hands, and her tie is loosened," he murmured, almost as if he were thinking aloud. Then he began to unzip her blouse.

"Togami-kun...!"

"If you don't like it, you may leave."

Chihiro exited the bathroom immediately, fighting tears again. Oogami made a noise of disgust deep in her throat, but remained where she was as Togami carefully pulled aside Kirigiri's bra and scanned the flesh.

"Nothing. No indication of a wound." He tugged the fabric  back over the exposed flesh. "Naegi, turn her over."

"Shouldn't all of this be in the Monokuma file?"

"If it was, do you think I'd be dirtying my hands like this?"

Reluctantly, Naegi placed his hands once more on the corpse.  _Why wouldn't Monokuma include those details? Could it be...that even Monokuma doesn't know exactly how it happened?_

* * *

 

After Celes left, Mondo shut the door and crossed his arms. "We need to talk."

Hagakure tried to smile; it didn't work. "Wh-what about?"

"Before you passed out, you said, 'I failed.' What was that about? What did you fail at?"

Hagakure fidgeted with the hem of his jacket.  _I can't tell him. I'd have to explain that I thought he was going to kill Chihiro..._

"I don't know, dude. I was sort of out of it at the time."

Mondo huffed, "That's a piss-poor excuse, and you know it. Did you try to kill that girl?" Again, Mondo's eyes seemed to turn to liquid fire. "If you killed her, I swear to every fucking deity you worship or don't worship, I'm gonna knock your block off!"

"I didn't kill her!" Hagakure threw his hands up for protection. "I swear, I didn't kill her!"

"Then what the hell did you fail at?!"

An idea occurred to Hagakure.  _I hope this works...after all, it's not_ too  _far from the truth_.

"I...I've been doing rituals to ward off evil spirits!"

"What?"

"That's right! That's why I needed all those tea leaves! I was hoping I could appease the gods, and they'd keep us all safe. It didn't work, though, so maybe that's what I meant?"

"Why are you asking me? Shouldn't you know?"

The doorbell saved Hagakure from having to come up with a better explanation. With a sigh, Mondo opened the door to admit Chihiro.

"Togami-kun was examining Kirigiri-san's body...I didn't want to watch, so..."

"What's he doing?"

Chihiro looked panicked for a moment. "Uh...oh, Hagakure-kun! Why are you in bed? Did something happen?"

"Nah, just fainted."

"Oh, no, that's terrible!" Hagakure could tell Chihiro was trying to avoid Mondo's question. "Do you need anything? Water? Food?"

"Actually, I think some quiet time would be good. Do you mind?"

"Not at all! I'm going to go have some breakfast."

Mondo shrugged. "I guess I'll go help someone with investigating. If you need me, just shout."

"Okay!"

* * *

The moment he was alone, Hagakure scrambled out of bed and grabbed his yarrow stalks. They came up blank. Then he tried scrying, and then he tried candle wax; nothing. There was no indication of who the killer was.

He snatched up his notebook and flipped through the pages, trying to find a situation in which Kirigiri died in the girls' bathroom. He found something similar, with no tally marks; it had come up only once, and so the only information he had was the location. 

He dropped the notebook and rubbed his temples. This wasn't supposed to happen. Out of all the scenarios, this one had been the least likely to take place.

A sudden, chilling thought entered Hagakure's head.  _Is this because I interfered? If I had left Chihi and Mondo alone, would Kiri still be alive?_

But then  _Chihiro_ would have died, Hagakure was sure of that. Or was he? Maybe there was never any danger; after all, Mondo always seemed so gentle around Chihiro. It was hard to imagine him harming the programmer. 

Kirigiri, though, was the ultimate target. After the way she'd performed in the first trial, she'd become a threat to anyone who planned on murdering someone else. She'd made herself a target.

But she was also capable. It was hard to believe that someone was able to get the best of someone as smart and vigilant as Kirigiri Kyouko. That made things even worse; if someone was able to kill Kirigiri, it would be easy to kill any one of the remaining students.

Hagakure extinguished the last candle and sent up a silent prayer to anyone who was listening:  _Please, let us find the killer._ _Please let there be no more murders_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably got rigor mortis all wrong I'm so sorry.


	4. Trial

When the elevator opened, the room looked different. While the rest of the students took in the new wallpaper, Hagakure focused on the picture of Kirigiri, covered in an _X_ like Leon and Sayaka--shouting, it seemed, of his failure to protect his fellow students. 

Mondo looked uncomfortable standing next to the picture of Kirigiri; he kept glancing over and gritting his teeth, as if fighting the urge to shout at someone. When the trial began, he was the first to speak. "Look, whoever the sick fuck is who killed Kirigiri, you might as well just step forward. I'll execute you myself for killin' a girl!"

"Now, now, Oowada-kun! That would mean  _your_ execution!" Monokuma giggled.

"This is game over!" Yamada mumbled loudly, as if he wanted to be heard but was pretending he didn't. "This is the bad ending for sure! Without our Sherlock to guide us, what will we do?"

"For one," Togami said, "we'll stop complaining. I'll admit, losing Kirigiri is a blow. However, we are perfectly capable of solving this case without her."

He didn't seem to have anything else to say, so Naegi took over. "Let's go over what we know. According to Togami-kun, the crime had to take place between 11 p.m. and seven this morning. By the time Asahina-san found the body, Kirigiri-san had been dead for at least one hour."

"Yeah, I have a question about that," Asahina said. "How come the Monokuma File didn't have any of that information this time?"

Monokuma laughed. "In honor of the death of Kirigiri Kyouko, Super High School-Level Detective, I thought I'd make this one a bit harder for you!"

"Detective?" Naegi asked.

"So that's wh-what her t-t-title was," Fukawa said. "She was t-too stuck-up to t-t-tell anyone."

"It was pretty obvious, though," Asahina said.

"Does it matter?" Togami asked. "We need to focus. We have a time window. We also know that the culprit was female."

"Not necessarily," Ishimaru said. "Is it not possible that Kirigiri-kun was attacked in the hallway, and stumbled to the bathroom as she died? Or perhaps the killer dragged her there!"

"I thought about that," Naegi said, "and while it's possible, I don't think it's  _probable_. Think about it: why would Kirigiri-san go to an isolated place if she knew she was dying? Why not try to reach someone's doorbell and divulge who the killer was, or get help? If you think about it, the only reason for Kirigiri-san to be in the bathroom is if she were attacked there."

"Furthermore," Oogami rumbled, "Kirigiri had a very firm grip on the sink. Togami had to break her fingers to get her to release it."

"He  _WHAT?!_ " Mondo shouted. "You fucking shithead! Who the hell do you think you are, messing with a dead girl's body?"

"As I explained to Naegi," Togami countered, "I needed to see if there was a wound on her torso, which required me to push aside her jacket. Lowering her left arm made it easier to do so."

"Did you find anything?" Chihiro asked. 

"Nothing on the front, but when I examined her back--"

"Y-y-you did what?!" Fukawa gasped. "B-but that w-would mean  _undressing_ her!"

"Which is precisely what I did," Togami said, completely unapologetic. "Or, rather, what I had Naegi do."

"He was very gentle about it," Oogami spoke up. "And reluctant, for what it is worth."

"AS I was saying," Togami interrupted, "when I examined her back, I located a tiny pinprick on one of her shoulders. I believe that is what killed her."

"A pinprick?" 

"H-h-how would  _that_ kill her?" Fukawa asked.

"Perhaps she was poisoned?" Celes suggested.

"Exactly. Someone injected a poison into her bloodstream, and she either didn't notice or simply believed that she had been pinched."

"But what could the culprit have used to inject her?" Asahina asked. "The health room is still off-limits!"

"F-f-for that matter," Fukawa said, "where would the k-k-killer get the poison?"

"I believe I can be of use here!" Ishimaru spoke up. "I have two suggestions!"

"Get on with it, then," Togami said.

Ishimaru puffed his chest out in pride. "When I was checking the storeroom, I noticed that a box of candy was missing! Perhaps the killer offered a poisoned candy to Kirigiri-kun, then used a needle from the girls' sewing kits to make it appear as if she was stabbed!"

Hagakure nodded halfheartedly. It made sense, in a way, but something still seemed off about it.

"Actually, Ishimaru," Asahina said, "I'm the one who took the candy. I really like that kind, and I didn't want anyone else to have it. I've eaten a few myself, and they aren't poisoned."

"Besides," Togami said, "there were no candy wrappers at the scene. If Kirigiri had accepted the candy, she would have had to dispose of the wrapper in some way. The trashcans were full, but Naegi could only find paper towels; and Kirigiri's pockets were completely empty."

"Then I have another suggestion, and a piece of evidence!" Ishimaru reached into his pocket and placed a silver object on his podium. "I found this hidden behind some boxes in the storeroom!"

There were some gasps; Celes's eyes widened. There, in front of everyone, was the finger ornament the gambler had lost.

"And, as you can see, it is missing the sharpest part! I believe that was used in some way!" 

"It's certainly sharp enough," Togami recalled. "Any explanation for why  _your_ finger ornament is in such a state, Celestia?"

Celes's nostrils flared; she lifted her chin defiantly. "I misplaced it at some point during the night, but it was undamaged. I had nothing to do with Kirigiri-san's murder."

"You 'misplaced' it?" Togami asked. "An unlikely story. How, pray tell, did you 'misplace' it?"

Celes faltered. "Let me think...well, obviously I take it off to sleep, and to wash my hands...perhaps I left it in the bathroom?"

"The same bathroom in which Kirigiri's body was found?" Togami asked.

"I suppose so. How it ended up in the storeroom is beyond me."

Chihiro raised a hand. "Um...I saw Celes-san in the storeroom last night, around midnight, I think. I was grabbing a gym uniform, because I was going to work out..."

"In the middle of the night?" Yamada asked. "How suspicious...unless...could it be? A midnight rendezvous?"

"Nah," Hagakure said, feeling the need to support the tiny Chihiro, "he was just worried that everyone would realize he was a guy, cuz he had to use the boys' locker room."

" _He?!_ " Asahina gasped.

"Yes, I'm a boy," Chihiro said, unfaltering. "And I was going to tell you all this morning, but I'm not used to staying up super late, so I slept in."

"Both Fujisaki and Hagakure were in the locker room with me around midnight," Mondo said. "We talked for a little bit, and around one-thirty, Hagakure went running off looking for Celes, for some reason. Seemed like it was urgent, too."

"Is that so?" Celes said. "He didn't tell me that when we ran into each other in the storeroom. However, he did mention that he was looking for Fukawa-san. It sounded to me as if they were planning, as Yamada-san put it, a 'midnight rendezvous.'"

"Wh-what?" Fukawa glared at Hagakure. "As if! Only my white knight could tempt me out of my room at such a late hour!"

Naegi spoke up. "That means that Hagakure-kun's whereabouts are known from midnight to 2 p.m."

"Actually," Celes said, "I have to question Hagakure-kun's motives. When I inquired as to why he was up and about, he said he was looking for tea. However, I found the entire stash of tea leaves in his dresser today."

"Is that so?" 

"A bit suspicious, if you ask me."

"Hey, hey!" Mondo said. "It's cool. Hagakure said he needs them for rituals."

"But  _all_ the tea leaves?" Celes pointed out. "There was quite an impressive supply. Surely he could have left some for actual consumption."

"M-maybe he c-c-came up with a poison made from t-t-tea leaves!" Fukawa said. "He probably knows all sorts of w-w-witchy stuff!"

"Hey, I'm not a witch! What I do has nothing in common with the occult!" Hagakure insisted. 

"Whatever Hagakure's reasons for hoarding tea leaves," Togami cut in, "the fact remains that he couldn't have killed Kirigiri. If a boy had entered the girls' bathroom, I would expect to see signs of a struggle, since a boy's presence would certainly catch Kirigiri's attention. Celes, however, could have. Is there any reason you returned to the storeroom?"

"There was," Celes responded. "I saw Hagakure-kun running towards the storeroom in a panic, and went to see what was bothering him. Then we walked back to our rooms together."

"Celes-chan still has no alibi from midnight to 1 a.m.," Asahina said. 

"I don't think it was Celes-san," Chihiro said. "Now that I think of it, Celes-san didn't have her finger ornament when I saw her."

"I think it was missing when I saw her in the storeroom, too," Hagakure said.

"You continue to mention this finger ornament," Oogami said. "How do we know that this was, in fact, the murder weapon? Is it able to administer poison?"

"It was," Togami said. "A poison of Celestia's own devising."

"Seriously?" Hagakure gasped.

"It's true," Celes confirmed. "I spend much of my time as a gambler in less-than-ideal areas. I need a way to protect myself against untoward advances. It stops the heart fairly quickly, but leaves enough time for the victim to realize what is happening, and why."

"Wait a minute!" Ishimaru shouted. "Unless someone else knew about this, it is irrelevant!"

"I'm afraid it won't be much help," Celes answered, "but I did tell some of the girls. When Oogami-san, Asahina-san, Fujisaki-san, and I were exploring the second floor, Asahina-san asked me what it was for. Togami-san and Fukawa-san were with us at the time, I believe. That hardly narrows it down."

"In that case," Naegi said, "we can reasonably assume that the weapon was Celes's finger ornament. If we could just locate the missing section..."

"Let's put that aside for now," Togami suggested. "Asahina and Oogami, do you have alibis?"

"Yes, we do," Asahina said. "We were together the entire time. We shared a room again."

"Which means," Naegi said, "the only girl without an alibi...is Fukawa-san!"

"Wh-wh-WHAT?" Fukawa gripped her braids. "Th-that's preposterous!"

"Actually, it makes perfect sense!" Naegi said. "You can't stand the sight of blood, so of course you'd go for a bloodless death!"

"I would not be so sure, Naegi-san," Celes said. "We have been operating on the assumption that the culprit happened to come across Kirigiri-san in the bathroom. But consider this: what if Kirigiri-san was meeting up with someone?" Murmurs spread throughout the room. Even Naegi looked uncertain. Celes continued. "Togami-san seems very insistent that it was a girl who killed Kirigiri-san."

Togami scowled. "Well, that's because it makes sense. I've outlined my reasoning--"

"--which is all very sound, Togami-san," Celes interrupted. "However, you were also present when I explained the practical function of my ornament. You would know that it was capable of administering poison. You have been the most enthusiastic about this 'game' since the beginning." Hagakure looked between Celes and Togami. The latter was actually sweating.

"I assure you, I had nothing to do with--"

"Of the remaining students, the people Kirigiri-san appeared to trust the most were Naegi-san and Togami-san. In the case of Togami-san, it was more a partnership of mutual benefit, on both ends, I assume. Perhaps she had outlived her usefulness. Perhaps she had come across some clue that could ruin the 'game' for Togami-san. Perhaps he simply wished to keep his secrets hidden."

"You're wrong, Celestia," Togami said, but his voice was shaking.

"Am I? Because everything seems to add up. You did tamper with the body, to some extent. You have been leading this discussion from the start, with every opportunity to lead us down the wrong path. There's no Kirigiri-san to counter your arguments." Celes looked around the room, like a queen regarding her subjects. "I suggest we vote, and end this now..."

"STOP!"

Everyone froze. Never before had anyone heard Fukawa yell with such conviction and force.

"I can't do this anymore! I can't deceive my white knight! I can't watch him die! Naegi's right, I did it! I killed that bitch!"

"Fukawa...?" Togami murmured, frowning.

"Why?" Asahina asked. "Why would you do something so horrible?"

"Hold up!" Monokuma announced. "It seems like you've all reached a decision. Let's get to voting!"

* * *

After Fukawa was chosen as the culprit, she explained herself.

"I could s-s-see how much my white knight admired that b-b-bitch," she snarled. "And I knew that, eventually, someone would d-d-discover my secret. It was obvious that that bitch was a detective. Then when Monokuma th-threatened to reveal our secrets...well, I knew I had to d-do something! B-but it had to be  _me,_ not...not  _her!_ "

"Her?" Chihiro asked.

"Yes,  _her!_ Genocider Syo!"

"So, I was right," Togami said.

"Not that famous serial killer!" Chihiro gasped.

"I  _hate_ her!" Fukawa hissed. "If she got f-free, she'd kill my white knight f-for sure! And she'd never kill th-that bitch Kirigiri, because she only ever k-k-kills boys I'm interested in!

"Besides, I-I had already told my white knight about S-Syo. I-if she killed someone, he w-would know, and I'd b-b-be so ashamed! S-so I had to do it myself. When I saw Celes's finger ornament on the sink, I knew I had my chance.

"I d-didn't know how to lure that bitch away from everyone, though. I was hiding in the bathroom stall, trying to come up with something, when I heard the door open. I peeked through the crack in the stall..."

"You're joking," Hagakure said. "Are you telling us that Kiri was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, just by  _chance_ _?_ "

"I couldn't believe my luck!" Fukawa continued. "The water shuts off in the private bathrooms at night, but it works perfectly well in the hallway restrooms. I was able to kill her, and all because of a full bladder!"

Hagakure noticed, as Fukawa progressed in the story, that her trademark stutter was disappearing; so close to the end, she was finally gaining confidence.

"I waited until she was washing her hands. I flushed to make it look like I was there for a legitimate reason. I'd left the ornament itself in the tampon disposal box--it was empty--and kept the needle at the tip up my sleeve. I faked a stumble as I went past, and caught myself on her shoulder. I dug my nails in--"

"And the needle," Naegi whispered.

"Uwah!" Yamada gasped. "How devious!"

"I worked quickly after that. I flushed the needle down the toilet and hid the ornament in the only place I could think of. It didn't occur to me until afterwards that I should have left it in the bathroom."

She clasped her hands. "Even though everyone knows my secret now...even though I'm going to die, I can die happy. My life has been one awful moment after another...but I've gotten my white knight one step closer to freedom."

Her eyes filled with tears, even as a smile--a true smile--crossed her face. "Byakuya-sama...thank you. Thank you for being a part of my life. I--"

"Time's up!" Monokuma cackled. "Let's get on with the execution!"

"No! I'm not done!" Fukawa screamed.

But it was too late. And as the rest of his classmates watched in horror as Fukawa was flattened, Hagakure turned his back, hands shaking.

_Kiri's last moments must have been so painful. If I just paid more attention...if I'd just tried a few more predictions, this could all have been avoided._

He vowed, then and there, that he wouldn't let it happen again. Even if it killed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope I wrote the trial well. It's hard! 
> 
> Anyway, things should focus more on Hagakure soon.


	5. Daily Life Part 2

Hagakure spent every waking hour making predictions, running around the school, staking out possible murder scenes, 'misplacing' hammers and chisels from the art room, and peering out a crack in his door. He woke up early and checked every corner of the school for a body. He consumed enormous amounts of tea, both for the caffeine and the patterns the leaves left. He slept less, ignoring the building aches and pains in his chest, back, and limbs.

One day, Hagakure was making his morning rounds--feeling dizzy, and fighting off a headache--when he heard a groan coming from the sauna. The minute he saw Ishimaru's prone form on the floor, he sprang into action, scooping the hall monitor up so that his arm was around his neck and lifting him, as best he could, towards the door.

A few moments later, the morning announcement went off; eventually, Hagakure managed to get to the door of the bath and out into the cool hallway. Distantly, he saw Asahina hurrying down the hall; he thought he heard someone call out, but at that moment, he felt himself going down again. 

_Not now...you can't let Ishimaru down..._

But he couldn't keep himself up, either.

* * *

He woke up in the health room this time, in a bed next to Ishimaru. The hall monitor was in only his underwear, propped up with pillows, but he was awake. Chihiro sat by his side, holding a glass of water at the ready. Hagakure sighed with relief. 

That relief was short-lived, because in the next moment, Asahina's scowling face loomed over him. 

"What is  _wrong_ with you?"

"What did I do?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Hagakure. We found all the tea leaves in your trash can. You can't consume that much caffeine, it's not good for you! You could have  _died_ if you kept that up!"

Hagakure took a deep breath--breathing was much harder, these days--and said, "I'm fine, just a little tired. Why aren't you yellin' at Taka here?"

"She already admonished me," Ishimaru said; it pained Hagakure to hear him so weak, without his usual shouting. 

"Hey, man, you okay? What happened?"

Asahina answered for him. "He passed out in the sauna. But we're talking about  _you,_ Hagakure. You're super lucky! We don't have all the supplies to deal with a full-on caffeine overdose. Why do you even need all that tea?" _  
_

"Staying up late?"

"And that's another thing! You need to get sleep, Hagakure. When did you last sleep? Come on, fess up!"

"...Three days ago? Maybe four?"

"Dammit, Hagakure!"

Even Ishimaru flinched at the force with which the swimmer threw her words. 

"What?"

"I don't get it! Why are you doing this? You've been acting weird all week, when you come out of your room, and when you don't it's like you stop existing! Are you that afraid of being murdered?"

"That's not it." 

"Then  _WHAT IS IT?!"_

 _"_ Asahina-kun!" Ishimaru attempted to shout, but it came out raspy; Chihiro offered him the water, but Ishimaru just waved it away. "Hagakure-kun's just woke up. Give him some time to rest!"

Asahina threw Hagakure a look that said  _This isn't over_ , but relented. "I'll go get some milk. You need laxatives, Hagakure. Don't argue."

When she left, Hagakure let out a sigh and turned to Ishimaru. "Seriously, dude, what happened?"

"I overestimated myself. Don't worry, it's just a bit of heat exhaustion. I'll be on my feet in no time!"

"But you won't be in the sauna any time soon," Chihiro cautioned. "Please, both of you, try not to push yourselves!"

* * *

Hagakure managed to make it back to his room without being apprehended by concerned classmates, but five minutes later, his doorbell rang. With a sigh, he decided he couldn't really ignore it--whoever it was might start to worry--and opened the door to find an angry Asahina with her hands on her hips. 

"Okay, you're going to tell me what's going on  _right now_ or I'll go get Sakura-chan," she insisted.

Hagakure sighed again and let Asahina into his room. He sat on the floor; she sat on the bed. 

"This is gonna sound crazy, okay? But it's not really that complicated. I've been trying to prevent murders."

"Are you the one who hid all the kitchen knives? It's been a pain cooking."

"Yeah, they're in my bathroom."

"That doesn't really explain everything, though."

It didn't look like he was getting out of this. "Look, you know I've only got, like, a 30% success rate, right? But this is huge. It's life-or-death huge. All those tea leaves? They were used to tell fortunes. I've burned almost every candle to a stub, my yarrow stalks have snapped, and I think I've gotten every combination of tarot cards possible. But I have to keep trying, because if I don't, someone could end up dead...someone else could end up like Kiri..."

Asahina's eyes widened, and she slid off the bed to sit knee-to-knee with Hagakure. "You don't blame yourself for that, right? There's no reason to. You weren't involved in any way, and there was nothing you could have done..."

"But I knew! I knew there was a slim chance of her being killed, but I ignored it because there were more likely things! I mean, I thought Mondo was gonna kill Chihi, so I went to the locker room, so what if Kiri died because I stopped Chihi from dying? What if I messed up fate, and Kiri paid the price?"

"Hagakure Yasuhiro, stop talking like that!" Asahina shouted, gripping his arm. "You are  _not_ responsible for Kirigiri-chan's death. You are  _not_ responsible for anyone here but yourself, and you've done a really bad job of taking care of yourself! You scared me! You scared all of us! We thought you two were going to die, and we'd have to have another trial! Don't you ever neglect yourself like that again, and don't you ever blame yourself for what happened to Kirigiri-chan!"

Stunned, Hagakure could only nod. Asahina searched his face, for what, he didn't know. 

"What are you thinking right now?" she asked, her voice much quieter than before.

It took him a moment to gather his thoughts. "I'm not used to people worrying about me like this."

He couldn't understand why Asahina looked so sad when he said that.

* * *

Monokuma got bored soon after, and presented them with the next motive: money. He looked straight at Hagakure when he said it.

That night, Hagakure made some halfhearted predictions; there were a few where Celes seemed to pose a threat, but they all included some albino version of Ishimaru. After a while, Hagakure gave in and admitted to himself that this time, the mastermind was specifically targeting him.

He should have seen it coming. Whoever was behind this was sure to get angry when no murders took place; they might have enjoyed Hagakure's despair as he ran himself into the ground, but now, with Asahina's help, he was getting back on his feet--and he was no longer a source of entertainment.

And he couldn't deny that he felt the pull of the motive. He needed that money, needed it badly. 

 _No,_ he told himself,  _none of that matters here. As long as you're here, money doesn't mean a single thing._

He'd have to content himself with that.

He tried a few more predictions; each time, he saw himself as the culprit.

He threw his spare crystal ball against the wall; it shattered into a million pieces, each reflecting back his own scared image. For the first time since he'd arrived at Hope's Peak, he allowed himself to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter. I think this may be nearing the end.


	6. How It All Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Except, not really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Suicidal thoughts; blood

His dreams were haunting; each and every one was a vision, and in each one, he was killing a friend. He woke up screaming at the horrible things his dream-self had done; he sat, shivering, until he could convince himself that it wasn't going to happen, he wasn't going to kill anyone, it was all just a dream.

To make matters worse, the dreams were getting in the way of his other prediction methods. Every so often, Hagakure would catch a glimpse of something else, but it was always obscured by a memory of a dream. He was  _missing_ things, and that put everyone at risk.

It was a small comfort that no one had died since Fukawa's execution, but Hagakure could feel something big about to happen. It made him shiver so constantly that Mondo had actually offered his coat.

Not that he saw Mondo very often. Hagakure knew that he presented an easier target in his distracted state, and he also knew it would be harder for one of his predictions to come true if he limited his contact with his classmates. He left to get food, and that was it.

One day, he retrieved a knife from his bathroom and laid on his back in bed, staring at the ceiling, feeling the weight of the metal object in his hand. It was terrifying, but something told him it was  _right,_ that this was  _fate,_ that it was  _supposed_ to happen...

 _No!_ Hagakure shook his head violently. He couldn't allow himself to go down that path.

Almost absentmindedly, but not quite, he lifted his right arm and bent his hand back. Then, ever so carefully, he brought his left arm up and placed the sharp edge of the knife against his wrist. All it would take was a bit more pressure, a quick movement, and all this misery would be over...

Someone knocked on his door. Hagakure was surprised when relief flooded him; this was a reason to put off making that incision. He tossed the weapon onto the bed and answered the door.

Once again, it was Asahina. She pushed her way in and froze. "Is that a knife?"

"Uh...yeah, I guess so."

She turned to him, peered so intently at his face that it made him fidget. "Hagakure-kun, what's going on? You've been acting weird again."

"I'm fine."

"Bullshit." The venom with which she spat the word surprised Hagakure. "What's the knife for, then? You planning on killing somebody?"

Hagakure couldn't look Asahina in the eye. He heard a small gasp and flinched, but when he snuck a glance, she was looking at his wrist. There was a small bead of blood oozing from the tiniest of cuts on the side. He'd pierced the skin, completely by accident.

"Hagakure..."

"I'm just tired, okay? I haven't slept well in days. Every time I try to make a prediction, it's always the same! It's always me, killing one of you guys! I've caught myself _planning murders_ , and it's only a matter of time before I slip up and do something I'll regret!"

Hagakure wasn't sure what made him spill all of this to Asahina. It was humiliating, it was terrifying, it was awful to admit the dark, evil thoughts that had intruded on his every waking and sleeping moment. But the look she was giving him wasn't filled with hatred, or horror, or disgust; it was something else entirely.

Without a word, Asahina tossed the knife from the bed and sat down. "You need to rest, Hagakure-kun."

"But--"

"I'll stay here. If you have nightmares, I'll wake you up. You're not getting out of this, Hagakure-kun. If you can't take care of yourself, I'll do it for you."

Hagakure wanted to say thank you, but he couldn't find the right words. Instead, he kicked off his sandals and climbed under the covers. Asahina shifted closer, facing him, a small smile on her lips.

"I won't leave. Just get some sleep."

So he did.

* * *

There was blood everywhere. 

The knife had an uneven coating of red; the floor was covered in stains, growing with each drop that fell from the rivulets off the sheets; the bed was an ocean of blood, spreading out from the small, lifeless body that had once been Asahina Aoi...

His hands were sticky, filthy...

He screamed.

* * *

"Hagakure! Hagakure!  _Yasuhiro!"_

He jolted awake, his throat raw and his cheeks wet with tears. Asahina's eyes were wide with concern; he could feel her hand on his arm, where she'd shaken him awake. His eyes shot downwards, but there was no sign of blood, of any harm whatsoever. The knife was clean, sitting a safe distance from the bed where Asahina had discarded it earlier.

She was safe, she was alive, it had all been a dream.

Hagakure wrapped his arms around Asahina and pulled her down to his chest. "Thank god, it was just a dream, thank  _god_..."

After a hesitant moment, Asahina's hand moved in slow, awkward circles on his chest. "That's right, just a bad dream. Do you want to talk about it?"

Hagakure just shook his head and cried. Asahina didn't pressure him, didn't demand an explanation. She just stayed there, rubbing his shoulder, murmuring reassurances. Eventually, he fell back asleep.

And jolted awake, his throat raw and his cheeks wet with tears. Asahina was calling his name again, his first name, and he found that soothing. He fell back asleep.

It happened over and over, different each time: sometimes she was already dead, sometimes she was dying, sometimes he was just about to kill her, sometimes she was pleading...

And he woke up again and again, no longer screaming, just whispering, " _Hina...,"_ hoping desperately for an answer and always receiving one.

It was hell, but eventually he fell asleep...and when he woke up, the morning announcement was playing, and he hadn't dreamed about Asahina.

* * *

The first thing he did, once he'd shifted a sleeping Asahina off his chest, was consult his crystal ball. To his (guilty) relief, he saw a completely different scenario--one that didn't include him. The nagging feeling that he was missing something lifted.

Then the announcement came on. 

_Ding dong! "A body has been discovered! Following a brief period of investigation, the school trial will commence!"_

Hagakure slumped, closed his eyes, and took deep breaths. Behind him, he heard the covers rustle, then footsteps. He felt rather than saw Asahina wrap her arms around him.

"Whatever happened, it isn't your fault."

Yesterday, he might have argued. Now, he just nodded. "I know."

"We should help with the investigation. Unless you don't feel up to it. I can stay if you need more sleep."

"No, let's go. Maybe I can still be of use somehow."

Asahina just hugged him harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah this just went full-on Asakure.  
> I have trouble with in-character Hagakure I'm so sorry.  
> Also I apologize for the long hiatus. The next update is...some time. Maybe. I can't promise it will be soon.


	7. Re: Investigation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I updated this, hasn't it? Well, since I recently got SDR2, I figured I should get back to work on some DR1 stuff. Plus, I'm determined to get at least one multi-chapter fic completed.
> 
> TW: There's some mention of gore ahead. I'm not a big fan of gore, so I don't think it's too bad, but you have been warned.

The other students were already present when Hagakure and Asahina arrived in the gym. The moment the body was in sight, Asahina let out a cry and buried her face in Hagakure's jacket.

Out of everything that had happened to them so far, this was by far the most unreasonable. Sakura's body was on the floor, her hair spread out around her like a mane, a pool of blood isolating her from the rest of the room. Her face was beyond recognition, a bloody mess of bone and brain. A pink, peeled-back bedsheet covered her lower body.

He should have been comforting Asahina, but Hagakure was instead wracking his brain for a similar scenario. One of his predictions had to match up, right?

"What should we do?" Chihiro's voice wavered. "For someone to kill Oogami-san..."

Togami sniffed. "Why do you ask such pointless questions? We investigate, like we always do."

"Perhaps someone should remove Asahina-san from the scene of the crime?" Celes suggested.

Well. Everyone was staring pretty pointedly at Hagakure, so he had no choice but to leave the investigating to the pros. Not that he was complaining.

* * *

"According to the Monokuma File," Naegi said, "Oogami-san died at about 12:15am from a blow to the head with a heavy object. No other external injuries, no sign of poisoning...just a blow to the head."

"That much is obvious," Togami snorted. "What I'm curious about is her position. Her feet are facing the stage, rather than the door. Wouldn't that suggest that she was facing the stage?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Look at the body."

Naegi's eyes widened. "You're not suggesting..."

"Save it for the trial. Let's continue examining the condition of the body. For example, why is there a sheet covering her lower half, if not to hide something?"

As he spoke, Togami peeled the sheet back further. Sakura's hands were folded across her stomach; as long as one ignored the horrendous condition of her face, it would be easy to assume she was merely sleeping. Which begged the question...

"Do you think Monokuma might have killed her?" Yamada asked from his spot by the door. "If she fell asleep in the gym..."

Togami shook his head. "That would be a punishment, not a murder, if Enoshima is any indication. But look, there's only blood on the underside of this sheet."

"So the sheet must have been placed after she was murdered?"

"Exactly. Let's check her pockets."

"She has no pockets," Naegi said.

"Then find one of the girls to check her bra. There's something I need to confirm."

Naegi shot Togami a look. "Um...is there something I should know about you, Togami-kun?"

"Just do it. If I'm right, this could be extremely important evidence."

Naegi stood up, muttering something that Togami didn't quite catch. When he was almost out the door, Togami called out, "Naegi!"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Nothing. Continue."

Naegi hesitated for only a moment before leaving. Once he was gone, Togami carefully removed both of Sakura's shoes.

"Just as I thought. Nothing at all."

* * *

"A heavy object, huh..." Ishimaru murmured to himself.

"Th-that's what the file says, yes," Chihiro replied. "What sort of heavy objects could have been used?"

"That is what we are attempting to find out, correct?" Celes said, twirling her hair around her finger. "If we knew the answer, I would be sipping tea at this very moment."

"Um, why _are_ you here?" Chihiro asked. "It's unlike you to hang around people like us..."

"I assumed that you would need someone capable of carrying heavy items to the gym," Celes replied, "and since Oowada-kun is the strongest remaining member of our little group, he would need to be relieved of guard duty. Therefore, I have asked Yamada-kun to take his place."

Ishimaru pulled up short. "Are you suggesting that Kyodai could be the murderer?"

"It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?" Celes said. "If I had to choose one person who might stand a chance against Oogami-san...well, Oowada-kun is the obvious answer."

"Kyodai would never do something like that!"

"But can you prove it?" Celes smiled darkly. "Unless you have evidence, your words are simply empty syllables."

Celes turned on her heel. "And now, I think, I will take my leave. I believe I will have a quick breakfast and retire to my room. Attending a trial on an empty stomach would be most unpleasant."

* * *

 _Truly infuriating,_ Celes thought to herself.  _To expect me to investigate without partaking in breakfast...how those boys do it is beyond me. But of course I can't be expected to provide food for everyone, can I?_

So absorbed was she in her own thoughts that she didn't see the person running towards he until it was too late. 

"Look out!"

_Bam!_

It took a moment for Celes to register her position. One moment she was daintily strolling through the halls toward the cafeteria door, and the next...

Was this...the  _floor?_

"You...you  _imbecile!_ "

Above her, Hagakure cowered in fear. "Whoa! That face..."

Celes quivered with rage. "How  _dare_ you knock me,  _Celestia Ludenberg_ , to the floor like some...some peasant! Why,  _you..._!"

Then she caught herself. As wonderful as it was to see the fortune teller's terrified face, Celes had an image to uphold. With great effort, she softened her expression and plastered on her usual doll-like smile. "Hagakure-kun, would you mind helping me up?"

"Uh...sure, I mean, no, I mean...here."

When Celes was back on her feet, she dusted off her spotless skirts and asked, "What brings you here in such a rush?"

"Ah..." Hagakure rubbed at his hair nervously. "I know it's not the best time, but...well, it's morning, and I'm hungry..."

"That's understandable."

"Also...well, I was thinking some donuts might make Hina feel better, y'know? Not that they'd replace Sakura, but..."

"Of course. Don't let me get in your way, then."

As Celes was about to follow Hagakure into the cafeteria, Naegi came running up. "Celes-san! I'm sorry to bother you, but we really need you in the gym..."

* * *

Hagakure was in the middle of piling donuts onto a plate when it finally came to him. The scenario was  _slightly_ off, but it matched up pretty well...

What mattered was that he had solved the murder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So how about it? Who's the killer? Tell me who you think it is!


	8. Re: Trial

The moment the trial commenced, Hagakure sprang into action. "I know exactly who killed Sakura!"

Asahina's eyes widened. "You do? Who is it?"

Hagakure took a deep breath. "The killer...was Sakura herself!"

His announcement was greeted with the wrong type of silence. Not heavy, awed silence, but...

"You have got to be fucking kidding me."

Hagakure cringed at Mondo's harsh tone. The gang leader was absolutely livid.

"You jokin'? Because that ain't fuckin' funny!" Mondo's hands were formed into fists again. "That girl just died, and you're tryin' to be  _clever!"_

"That's not it at all! I'm serious!"

Togami folded his arms over his chest. "Then you're both wrong  _and_ stupid. Nothing new there."

"How am I wrong?"

"Why would Oogami kill herself?"

"Why? Because...because she's a traitor! She made a deal with Monokuma..." Hagakure trailed off. It had made so much sense in his head, and he was still convinced he was right, but when he said it like that...it just sounded crazy.

Even worse, Asahina was crying again. After spending the entire investigation period working to cheer her up, Hagakure couldn't help but feel defeated.

"You're...you're awful." Asahina choked on a sob, then spat out, "How could you accuse her of doing something like that?"

Hagakure looked down at his feet. "I just...I saw it in a vision, and--"

"To hell with your visions!" Asahina screamed. "Don't you get it? They're all wrong! Not a single one of your predictions has come true since we got here!"

"That's not true! I knew Kuwata-chi killed Maizono-chi, because I saw that!"

"So what? Have any of your other visions come true?"

Hagakure's mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, and yet he couldn't bring himself to say anything.

Asahina refused to look at him. "That's right. None of them. Because if they had...if they had, you would have killed somebody by now."

There were a few scattered gasps. Hagakure thought he might have been one of them.

"Are you two done squabbling?" Togami sneered. "If so, we have a mystery to solve."

Asahina nodded. She still wasn't looking at Hagakure.

"Good." Togami turned his attention back to the group at large. "Let's start with the time of death. According to the Monokuma File, Oogami died shortly after midnight. We can assume the murder took place in the gym, since there are no signs of her body being moved."

"It would appear that our Nighttime Rule has once again been ignored..." Celes sighed. 

"At this point, we might as well consider that rule void," Togami said. "That being said, we have no way of knowing what time Oogami and the killer met up."

Chihiro raised his hand. "Um...how do you know they met up? Couldn't the killer have snuck up on Oogami-san?"

Togami shook his head. "There's no way that could have happened. Just look at the location of the wound."

Datapads were extracted from pockets and the Monokuma File pulled up on each one. No one spoke.

"Is it really so hard to grasp?" Togami asked. "The blow fell on the front of Oogami's head, not the back. She had to have been facing the killer when she was murdered."

"That does not necessarily mean they were meeting up," Celes pointed out. "Perhaps Oogami-san turned around moments before the fatal blow was struck, but had no time to react."

"Impossible!" Yamada declared. "For the Super High School-Level Martial Artist to be taken by surprise like that...it could never happen in a million years!"

Celes's smile became forced. She spoke through gritted teeth, "What was that, swine?"

"Eep!" Yamada squealed. "I'm sorry!"

"No, Yamada's right," Asahina said softly. "Sakura-chan's reflexes and perception were far too keen. She would have known immediately that someone was in the gym with her."

"She would have heard the killer coming, too," Togami said. "Every little sound in the gym is echoed and magnified. Naegi can attest to that."

Understanding dawned on Naegi's face. "That's why you called out to me! You wanted to test the acoustics!"

Togami threw Naegi a  _yes-thank-you-captain-obvious_ look.

"So," Ishimaru said, "we can assume that Oogami-kun was perfectly aware of the killer's presence."

"That does not mean she was meeting up with the killer," Celes insisted. "Perhaps she and the killer fought."

Mondo snorted. "If that'd happened, we'd have an entirely different body to worry about."

"Perhaps the killer simply got...lucky." Celes looked pointedly at Naegi. 

Immediately, Asahina's rage returned, this time directed at Naegi. "Is that true? Did you kill Sakura-chan?"

"What? No!" Naegi threw his hands up, as if to ward off Asahina's anger. "I would never kill someone! I promise!"

"As I told Ishimaru-kun earlier," Celes said, "unless you can provide evidence to back up your claim, your words hold no meaning. So, Naegi-kun, can you prove that you are not the killer?"

It was not Naegi who spoke up, but Ishimaru.

"I believe I can prove Naegi-kun's innocence!"

Celes raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Do continue."

Ishimaru puffed out his chest. "When Fujisaki-kun, Kyodai, and I were investigating, we found a number of heavy objects that could have been used as the murder weapon. Kyodai carried them to the gym to see if they matched the shape of the wound."

Mondo nodded towards Chihiro. "Was Fujisaki's idea. Pretty damn smart." 

Chihiro smiled and murmured a thank you.

Ishimaru continued as if no interruption had occurred. "We discovered that the largest available weight in the locker rooms matched the wound."

"I checked the girls' locker room using Maizono-san's e-handbook," Chihiro said, "and found the same size weight there, too. If that was the murder weapon, whoever killed Oogami-san cleaned it pretty thoroughly. Neither weight had any blood or...other stuff...on it."

Togami leveled his gaze at the programmer. "Would you say...was one weight cleaner than the other?"

Chihiro hummed thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it...the weight in the girls' locker room was definitely shinier than the one in the boy's locker room. That one had a couple of fingerprints when we found it.

"Couldn't that just be a coincidence?" Yamada asked. "Maybe none of the girls can lift that much weight!"

"Sakura-chan could," Asahina said. "She even said it was too light for her. And she definitely used it at least once. That has to be the murder weapon!"

"In that case," Togami said, "we just have to figure out who is capable of lifting that weight. Oowada is certainly a suspect."

"Hey, don't look at me!" Mondo protested. "I could barely lift it! I had to stop at least five times to rest when I was bringing it from the locker room to the gym!"

"That is true!" Ishimaru said. "I can attest to that!"

"I can, too," Chihiro said.

"Has it occurred to you that Oowada could have been faking the effort?" Togami sneered. "You shouldn't be so quick to trust."

"I don't know," Hagakure said, "you seem to trust Naegi a whole bunch."

His attempt to join the conversation was met with discouraging stares. Togami in particular seemed intent on glaring holes through Hagakure's body. "If you don't have anything useful to say, why don't you keep your mouth shut?"

"Sorry." Hagakure went back to examining the floor.

Togami cleared his throat and straightened his tie. "Now, then. I propose that we come back to the subject of the weight and move on to something more interesting. Namely, the sheet we found covering Oogami."

It was Naegi's turn to shoot a look at Togami, this one more of a  _what-is-it-with-you-and-examining-the-dead-bodies-of-girls-jesus-christ_ look.

Mondo narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me ya went looking down there."

"Of course I did. There might have been vital evidence. However, there was nothing out of the ordinary under that sheet."

"Maybe the killer was trying to show some respect for Oogami-kun!" Ishimaru suggested. "Her skirt was rather short, after all. Covering up her lower half would have made it impossible for someone to see improper things!"

"No one would want to look there," Yamada muttered.

Naegi shot Togami a  _well-i-don't-want-to-assume-but-based-on-my-observations..._ look. Togami replied with a  _your-opinion-is-of-no-consequence-and-also-wrong_ look. Hagakure tried to communicate a  _what-the-fuck_ look to one of them, but at this point he might as well have been invisible. _  
_

"Oogami's hands were folded across her stomach," Togami continued. "Whoever the killer is, they took time to arrange the body in a relatively pleasing manner. Also, Oogami's feet were pointing toward the stage. There are no signs that the body was moved, and interestingly enough, no blood on the soles of Oogami's shoes. So she was killed facing the stage--and, ultimately, facing the killer.

"So it would appear that Oogami-san and the killer did, in fact, meet up," Celes relented. "Well, I suppose it cannot be helped. If people are willing to break the Nighttime Rule, they must be held responsible for the consequences of their actions."

"But that just raises another question," Ishimaru said. "Who invited who to meet up, and why?"

"The killer arranged it, obviously," Asahina growled. "That's why they got there first!"

"Not necessarily," Togami said. "For the sake of argument, let's assume the murder weapon was the largest weight in the girls' locker room. Only girls can access that weight outside of an investigation. Celes is clearly unsuited for weight-lifting, so that just leaves Asahina."

"I can't lift it, either," Asahina said. "Weight-lifting isn't part of my training regimen."

"In that case," Togami said, "I think I can say with certainty that the only person who could have brought that weight from the locker room to the gym...was Oogami Sakura herself."

"Wh-what?!" Asahina gasped. "That...that can't be right!"

"It's the only explanation," Togami insisted. "If that weight really was too light for her, she would have had no trouble transporting it to the gym. While she was retrieving the weight, the killer could arrive at the gym before her."

Yamada shivered. "Does that mean...Oogami Sakura-dono was the one who was planning murder?"

"Of course not!" Asahina cried. "She would never--"

"If she had attempted to murder someone, she would have been successful," Celes said. "We have already established this."

"But then that means..."

Naegi's shoulders drooped. "It means that Sakura was planning her own murder."

Asahina gasped again, covering her mouth with her hands. 

"So..." Chihiro sniffed. "Hagakure-kun was right? Oogami-san really did commit suicide?"

"Not exactly," Celes said. "Assisted suicide is a more correct term. She did not strike the killing blow. If we can discover who Oogami-san met up with, we will know the killer's identity."

Yamada pointed a finger at Asahina. "It has to be Asahina Aoi-dono! She and Oogami Sakura-dono were best friends! Perhaps...even a little bit closer than friends?" A disgusting expression came over Yamada.

"It's not like that!" Asahina cried. "And I would never,  _never_ kill Sakura-chan! Even if my life depended on it, I wouldn't be able to do it!" _  
_

"But who else would Oogami-kun wish to speak with at such a late hour?" Ishimaru asked. "It would have to be someone she trusted!"

"I didn't do it!" Asahina protested. "I swear, I didn't kill Sakura-chan!"

"Unless you have an alibi, you might as well confess!" Yamada insisted.

"She does have an alibi!" Hagakure spoke up. "Hina couldn't have killed Sakura-chi, because she was with me all night!"

"What?!" Yamada cried. "Spending the night with a beautiful girl...could it be? Is this a case of pity sex?"

Ishimaru was aghast. "A boy and a girl...have you no decency?" 

"It's not like that!" Hagakure said. "You guys know I've been shut up in my room, right? Hina came to make sure I was alright, then stayed with me because...because..."

Hagakure looked at Asahina. She still wasn't making eye contact. Hagakure sighed.

"To tell the truth...ever since Monokuma presented us with the new motive, all of my visions have followed the same general pattern. What Hina said earlier...yeah, I was the murderer in all my visions. It got so bad that I...well, I almost..." He shook his head. "Anyway, if Hina hadn't showed up when she did, I don't know if I could've gone on. I haven't been sleeping well, so she stayed with me until I did...but I was really shaken up, because I kept having dream-visions where I...yeah. And every time I woke up, Hina was there to calm me down."

Hagakure shook his head to clear it, then said, "Anyway, Hina couldn't have gone to meet Sakura-chi, because she was with me all night."

Togami lifted his chin. "That means Hagakure's also got an alibi. Fujisaki and Celes can't lift the weight, and I certainly can't. That leaves Yamada, Ishimaru, and Oowada."

"What about Togami-kun?" Celes queried. "If anyone has bothered to study the student profiles on our e-handbooks, they would notice that Togami-kun's chest size is rather impressive. Clearly, he participates in some sort of exercise."

Togami smirked. "Clearly, you do not. My exercise regimen is geared towards improving my core and pectorals, not my limbs. I am perfectly capable of defending myself, but I would never ruin my body by beefing up my arms."

Asahina growled. "Are you implying that Sakura-chan's physique was ugly?"

"It certainly wasn't attractive. Female bodybuilders are disgusting."

"Togami-kun!" Ishimaru barked. "Although I respect your opinion, I will not tolerate bullying or disrespecting the dead! What Oogami-kun chose to do with her body was her business alone!"

Asahina gave Ishimaru a grateful look. 

"By the way," Celes said, drawing out each word, "I can't help but notice that Hagakure-kun is no longer referring to Oogami-san as 'The Ogre.'"

Hagakure shrugged. "Like Taka said, we shouldn't disrespect the dead."

"Says the guy who accused Sakura-chan of betraying us," Asahina spat.

"Don't start that again," Mondo groaned. "Arguin' over this stuff is pointless."

"We were discussing alibis and weight-lifting capabilites, correct?" Celes clarified. "Oowada-kun, Ishimaru-kun, and Yamada-kun have yet to prove themselves innocent."

"If Oogami carried the weight down to the gym, whoever killed her wouldn't have had to hold it for very long," Togami said. "As long as they could heft it over their head without toppling over, they could kill Oogami with ease."

"Ishimaru-kun couldn't lift it at all," Chihiro said. "He dragged it a few centimeters, but any more would have strained his muscles. I was afraid he would fly backwards and hit the wall."

"It has to be Yamada-kun!" Ishimaru insisted. "Kyodai would never strike a girl!"

"Oogami hardly qualifies as a girl," Togami said.

"Take that back!"

Togami blinked in surprise. "Excuse me, Fujisaki?"

The normally docile programmer looked absolutely livid. "Just because Oogami-san was rather masculine...that's no reason to make fun of her! She's no less of a girl than Asahina-san!"

While Togami stood speechless, Yamada said, "I was in my room all night, following the Nighttime Rule that the mistress set forth!"

"That's hardly an alibi," Asahina said. "Unless someone was watching you or your door all night, that could totally be a lie!"

"Besides," Ishimaru said, "your bedroom is at the very end of the hall, with only one neighbor! It would be easy for you to take the hallway that passes the bathrooms, all the while avoiding the risk of encountering anyone leaving their rooms!"

"So it's definitely Yamada!" Asahina declared. "Monokuma, we're ready to vote!"

"Hold on!" Naegi protested. "There's still one more thing we need to clear up."

"What? What could there possibly be that we haven't discussed?" Asahina hissed.

Togami took over. "The sheet that was used to cover Oogami-san. It was pink, and pink blankets are found in the girls' rooms, right?"

"Not necessarily," Celes spoke up. "My sheets are black."

"And my sheets are limited-edition Princess Buuko sheets! I refuse to sleep without them!" Yamada huffed. "A bed without Princess Buuko's likeness isn't a bed at all!"

"Is that true, Monokuma?" Togami asked. "Or is that too pertinent to the trial?"

Monokuma twirled the drink that had mysteriously appeared in his hand. "Eh...what the heck. Fatty is telling the truth."

"Other than that," Asahina spoke up, "all the girls had pink sheets. At least, all the girls who were alive until last night..."

"Then the answer is obvious," Togami said. "The killer must have used Oogami's own bedclothes to cover her body."

"But...how would they be able to get her sheets?" Chihiro asked. "Our private rooms can't be entered without a key."

"And the killer had Oogami's key," Togami said. "It was nowhere to be found on her person. I checked inside her shoes and, since Celes refused, inside her bra."

"The fuck?!" Mondo shouted. "Your one messed-up bastard, ya know that?"

"I was merely investigating. I assure you, it brought me no pleasure."

"In that case," Ishimaru said, "whoever has the key to Oogami-kun's room is the killer! Everyone, empty your pockets!"

Mondo rolled his eyes. "Aniki, there's no way the killer is gonna just pull out the key. Besides, they might not even have it on them anymore. Coulda hid it somewhere in the school for all we know."

"If we can't figure out who has the key," Togami said, "we're going to have to go back to the weight that was used to kill Oogami. Monokuma, is there any way to bring the weight down here?"

Monokuma tilted his head. "What, you mean this weight?"

There were a few gasps as the bear effortlessly tossed the heavy weight towards Hagakure's feet. "Here ya go! Have fun!"

"Okay," Togami said, "let's have Ishimaru, Yamada, and Oowada try to lift it."

Celes shook her head. "There is no guarantee that they will give it their all, Togami-kun."

But Ishimaru was already striding towards the weight. "I will go first!"

He planted his feet firmly on the ground, bent his knees, and grabbed hold of the weight. Muscles straining, he tried to lift the weight...then tumbled forward, exhausted.

"Okay," Togami said, "I think that proves Ishimaru's innocence. Yamada?"

Yamada, it turned out, could lift one end of the weight only to about his stomach before plummeting back to the ground. Which left Mondo.

He stood before the weight, as if considering the best way to pick it up. He bent down to reach for it, paused, then sighed. "Fuck it."

He lifted the weight with only a small grunt, two-handed, high above his head. He staggered a bit, but kept his balance.

Ishimaru's eyes widened. "Kyodai...?"

Mondo carefully lowered the weight. "Yeah, I can lift the weight. I'm the one who..."

He stopped, rubbed a hand over his face, and stayed that way for a minute. Then he mumbled, "I'm sorry. I can't do this."

"Can't do...what?" Yamada asked.

Mondo looked down at his feet as he walked back to his podium. He stayed that way as he said, "I can't let everyone die because they mis-voted. I've got people I care about, okay? So...maybe we should just tell it like it is."

"Um...who are you talking to?" Chihiro asked. 

Hagakure looked across the circle at the one member of the group who had been unusually quiet. "Hey, Naegs, is there something wrong? Seems like Byakun has been doing most of the talking."

Naegi closed his eyes and gripped the podium. "I...I don't know. I really, really don't know."

"Spit it out, Naegi," Togami demanded. "We haven't got all day."

"I'm serious, I don't know!" Naegi cried. "I might have killed her, but...but if I did, it was an accident! I was just trying to help!"

"Naegi..." Asahina said. "Did you...did you kill Sakura-chan?"

Naegi looked down at his feet, mirroring Mondo. "...Last night, Oogami-san came to my door and asked me to meet her in the gym. I got there first, like Togami-kun said, and waited a few minutes while Oogami-san got the weight. She said she wanted a spotter, and Asahina-san wasn't in her room. But I wasn't sure I could help Oogami-san if something went wrong. So she said she wanted to try a different kind of weight-lifting.

"I don't know anything about training with weights, so I went along with it. Oogami-san had me hold one end of the weight, and she laid on the floor and lifted the other end. It was hard for me to keep my half up, but it was manageable.

"While she was lifting, Oogami-san and I talked. At first it was just about training regimen and techniques, but then she started talking about...other things. About how Monokuma had threatened her family dojo and forced her to be his mole. About how she was supposed to initiate a killing if there was a lull, and how she was seriously reconsidering it...

"And that's when it happened. At the moment that Oogami-san had the weight lifted high above her head, she suddenly let it go. I couldn't keep it up with the way I was holding it, so her end of the weight came falling down and..."

Naegi's voice cut off with a choke. His hand flew to his mouth as he hunched over. He looked like he was about to be sick.

Ishimaru spoke up. "Naegi-kun, are you feeling unwell?"

"No matter how you look at it, this isn't possible," Yamada said. "Fujisaki Chihiro-dono said that the weight was found in the girls' locker room! There's no way Naegi Makoto-dono could have returned it there!"

"Of course not," Mondo said. "That was me."

"Hwaaht?!" Yamada cried.

"Yeah," Mondo said, rubbing the back of his head, "Naegi woke me up in the middle of the goddamn night, covered in blood and freakin' the fuck out. He was sick all over my floor, too. Had to rush him to the bathroom so he could blow his chow."

Naegi groaned. "Please don't talk about that right now..."

"Sorry, little man. Anyway, once I got the kid to calm down, we went to the gym and--"

"Wait!" Celes demanded. "Might I inquire as to why Naegi-kun chose Oowada-kun to go to for help? I would have thought he would go to Togami-kun, considering how often they are together."

Togami sniffed. "The only reason I associate with Naegi is because he has proven himself useful."

Naegi pushed himself off the podium and stood a little straighter, although he was still a bit green and definitely swaying. "I don't know why I went to Oowada-kun. I was scared and confused, and I just...needed someone who wouldn't freak out or make things worse."

"I'll admit, it was fucked up seein' that girl's body like it was," Mondo said, "and knowin' that Naegi had been there. We couldn't exactly leave her like she was, so I folded her hands over her stomach to make her seem a bit more peaceful. Naegi had the idea to cover her with somethin', and to check for her key in her shoe. So he went to get the sheet, and I took the weight, washed it off, and used Oogami's e-handbook to put it back in the girls' locker room. Naegi came back, we covered the girl up, cleaned up the blood he'd left when he walked through the halls, and went to the laundry room to wash his clothes. That's it."

Asahina looked at Naegi. "Why didn't you say anything, Naegi? I asked you in the beginning, and you said you didn't kill Sakura-chan!"

"That's 'cuz he didn't!" said Mondo. "Oogami dropped the weight of her own accord. Naegi didn't know that was gonna happen. So it's Oogami's fault, not Naegi's!"

"What you believe doesn't matter," Togami said. "It's all up to Monokuma. If he decides it's a suicide, then we should vote for Oogami. If he considers it a murder, we should vote for Naegi. Although it pains me to lose a valuable assistant, I refuse to lose this game. So, Monokuma, which shall it be?"

"I can't tell you that!" the bear replied. "That would take all the fun out of it! You have to vote, and then I'll tell you the answer!"

"But...how are we supposed to vote if we don't know who's to blame?" Chihiro asked.

Monokuma laughed. "That's just a risk you'll have to take! Now let's get the voting underway!" 

There was hesitation all around, but in the end, everyone pressed a button. Monokuma tallied the votes, and then announced, "By one vote, the culprit is...Naegi Makoto! Congratulations, everyone, you've chosen correctly!"

"What?!" Mondo shouted. "That's bullshit! You know Oogami dropped that weight on her head to kill herself! It's obvious!"

"Yeah!" Yamada said. "You can't blame Naegi Makoto-dono for this!"

"Yes, he can," Celes said. "Naegi-kun was unable to hold the weight up when it fell. He was the one in possession of the murder weapon when the crime was committed."

Naegi was shaking where he stood. "I-I don't wanna die! This was an accident! I'm so sorry!"

But the chain was already wrapping itself around his body, dragging him away to his execution.

* * *

After the trial, there was an aura of melancholy surrounding every student, coupled with a feeling of numbness. The elevator's atmosphere seemed devoid of oxygen; even Togami seemed less self-assured. This wasn't like the other trials. This...this had taken Naegi from them. Naegi, the one friend they all had in common. The one person everyone felt they could turn to in their time of need, gone...

Everyone returned to their respective rooms. Hagakure spent the night alone, plagued by regular nightmares where Naegi died over and over, and each time, Hagakure was too late to save him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's that. To be honest, I changed the culprit at the last minute, because the first one was too obvious. Originally, it actually was going to be Mondo. 
> 
> Anyway, now the group's Hope is gone. What will that mean for our SHSL students? What will that mean for Hagakure's success rate? At this point, even I'm not too sure.


	9. Life After Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, I am so sorry. It's been over a year since I last updated this thing. But I'm here now, so have a chapter.

For the first time in days, Hagakure attended the breakfast meeting. Ishimaru was pleased to see his orders being followed, but, like everyone in the room, his mood was subdued. Even Togami seemed to be remaining respectfully silent.

It was strange how losing Naegi left a bigger hole than losing any other classmate. There was always something about Naegi that made him special, but still...

Maybe it was because he hadn't actually killed anyone. He was still innocent when he was executed as a criminal. That, more than anything else, sent shivers up and down Hagakure's spine.

There was only one person missing from the meeting, and that was Chihiro. But according to Ishimaru, the programmer had answered the door that morning, so there was no need to worry. That left more room to sulk.

It was Mondo who broke the silence. "That trial was fuckin' rigged."

"How so?" Celes asked. "We voted, and Monokuma-san delivered the verdict."

"Monokuma was fuckin' wrong!" Mondo shouted. "Anyone with half a brain could tell you that Oogami committed suicide! Naegi shouldn'ta died!"

"What I don't understand," Togami said, "is why the two of you didn't speak up at the beginning of the trial. If neither of you believed he was guilty, there was nothing to hide."

"Ya don't get it, do ya?" Mondo asked through gritted teeth. "Ya didn't see the kid that night. I was fuckin' terrified. Thought  _he_ had been stabbed, he was so pale. I had to prop him up just to keep him from falling in his own vomit."

"So? You could have informed all of us the moment you found out."

"When Naegi was covered in Oogami's blood? Yeah, right! You'da blamed him right away!"

"Which would have shortened the trial by a significant amount," Celes said. "What's done is done, Oowada-kun. There's no use dwelling on it."

Mondo growled. "Ya probably voted for him, didn't ya? Heartless bitch!"

Suddenly, Asahina pushed back her chair and stood up. "I'm not hungry." And she walked towards the door, oblivious to the eyes following her.

Hagakure stayed a bit longer, but without Asahina he suddenly felt like he was surrounded by strangers. Monokuma had said that Naegi had been chosen by one vote...that meant five of his classmates had voted for Naegi. 

The thought of staying in the room with them was unbearable. 

He made a weak excuse that no one really listened to, then hurried into the hall. He caught up with Asahina just as she reached her bedroom.

"What do you want, Hagakure?" she stated more than asked, eyes trained on the doorknob in her hand.

"I just...are you okay?"

Asahina looked up. "No, Hagakure, I'm not okay. My best friend is dead and Naegi is...was...dammit, I don't know!" She turned around and slumped against the door, face in her hands. "I don't want to believe Sakura-chan committed suicide, but I don't want to believe Naegi killed her, either!" With a muffled sob, she said, "I don't know what to think anymore."

Hagakure stood awkwardly at her side. This was not his area of expertise. Omen-reading and dream interpretations? No problem. Crying girls? He didn't know what to do with crying girls. Or crying anyone, really.

But Asahina had been there for him, so he owed it to her to be there for her. Cautiously, he patted her shoulder, then moved in for the most awkward of hugs, arms hovering near her but not actually touching her. "Um, there, there?"

Through hiccups, she said, "You know that d-doesn't really work, right?"

"Totally?"

Despite herself, Asahina let out a small laugh. "Let's just get out of the hallway. I don't want everyone to see me crying."

"No one's gonna blame you."

"Still." Asahina unlocked her door and, when Hagakure didn't move to follow her, pulled him after her. 

"So, since I'm in your room..." Hagakure began.

"I swear, if you say something even remotely Yamada-like, I will kick you out," Asahina said.

"No! I was just gonna ask...we're okay, right? You're not still mad at me?"

Asahina wiped her eyes as she grabbed a glass from her nightstand. "Not really. I mean, you were sort of right about Sakura-chan ki--about how Sakura-chan died. And about her being a mole, but...it's not something I wanted to hear. I still don't want to think about it." 

While Asahina went to the bathroom for water, Hagakure cautiously lowered himself onto the bed, unsure if it would get him yelled at. When Asahina came back, however, she just sat next to him and held the half-drained glass in her hands. "I guess...no, I'm not mad at you. I can't be. Naegi was my... _our_ friend, and now that he and Sakura-chan are gone..." She leaned her head against Hagakure's arm. "I don't know who to trust. Except you."

Hagakure stayed as still as he could, so as not to jostle Asahina. "What about Taka and Chihi?"

"I don't know. What if they voted for Naegi?" She sat up suddenly. " _You_ didn't vote for Naegi, did you?"

"Of course not! I didn't want anyone else to die, and he was totally innocent!" 

"Exactly," Asahina said. "But four of us  _did_ vote for him. For their  _friend_. And if they can condemn a friend to death...what  _can't_ they do?"

Hagakure had no answer. Then he realized something. "Wait, four? Don't you mean five?"

Asahina shook her head. "No, I...I didn't vote. Not for Sakura-chan or Naegi, anyways. I couldn't bring myself to..."

"So...who did you vote for, then?"

"...Myself."

"Wh-"

The ringing doorbell startled both of them. They exchanged a questioning look. Then Asahina set the water down on her nightstand and went to open the door just a crack.

"Hey. Is, uh, is Hagakure in there?"

Asahina nodded, then opened the door a bit wider. Mondo stood in the doorway, looking distinctly uncomfortable, his eyes trained on his shoes. "You in there, man?"

"Yeah, right here!"

Mondo still wouldn't look up. Asahina turned around, rolled her eyes, then threw open the door and said, "You can come in, you know. No one's naked."

"I'd rather not. Hey, Hagakure, you mind if we talk in your room? Or mine. Whichever."

For a moment, Hagakure's brain started yelling out warning signals. He hadn't made any predictions since the last trial, so he had no idea if this was a trap...but he trusted Mondo. And even Hagakure knew it would be stupid to try and murder someone so soon after a trial. Besides, Asahina would know if anything happened.

He really hoped nothing would happen.

"Sure, my room's fine. A little messy, though."

Mondo rolled his eyes. "Dude, I was there when you threw up in your wastebasket and had a drawer full of loose-leaf tea. I know what 'messy' looks like with you."

* * *

Once they were in Hagakure's room, Mondo seemed much more at ease. He took a seat at the desk while Hagakure sat cross-legged on the edge of his bed. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I know ya didn't vote for Naegi," Mondo said, "and I know Ishimaru didn't. And of course I didn't. Thing is, Fujisaki says  _he_ didn't, either, and I believe 'im. You see the problem?"

"Uh...no, sorry, you lost me."

Mondo rolled his eyes. "C'mon, man, it's basic math. There were nine of us at the trial, so that's nine votes. Five of those had to be for Naegi, because Monokuma said he lost by one vote. I dunno how Naegi voted, but I doubt he voted for himself. There are eight of us now. That means, if Monokuma was right, only four of us coulda voted Naegi innocent."

"So...someone's lying?"

"Ya don't get it, do ya?" Mondo said, anger creeping into his voice. "Fujisaki and Ishimaru would  _never_ vote for Naegi like that. Naegi was important to  _all_ of us! And I  _know_ I voted him innocent. And here's the thing. I know I'm not the smartest person here, and I'm nowhere near as good at findin' clues as Togami. But  _he_ wouldn'ta voted for Naegi, 'cuz Naegi was still useful. And if  _you_ voted him innocent, even if Naegi  _himself_ didn't, that's still a majority. He shouldn'ta died. Monokuma lied about the votes."

Mondo scooted forward, so he was sitting on the edge of the seat. "So yeah, that's five of us. I don't know about Celes, Yamada, or Asahina--"

"Hina voted for herself," Hagakure blurted.

"She what?"

"She didn't want to choose between her friends."

"Shit, then that's...then that means only two of us, at most, mighta voted guilty. Maybe four, if I'm wrong about Togami and Naegi. But that's a fifty-fifty split. Ya see? Either no one shoulda died at that trial, or Naegi should be the only one goin' free. Somethin's not right, and I'm not gonna sit on my ass and let Monokuma walk all over us. This is goin' too far."

Hagakure frowned. "Don't get me wrong, I totally agree with you, but why are you telling  _me_ this? Why not Taka or Chihi?"

Mondo sighed. "Look, what ya said at the trial, about makin' predictions and shit? Really got me thinkin'. You've been workin' your ass off to keep us safe. Thinkin' back, if ya hadn't shown up when you did, I might've actually killed Fujisaki." He shuddered. "There was a moment when I almost did. I was just so angry...but I didn't. And I think maybe ya know that already." He looked up for confirmation, and Hagakure nodded. "So I trust ya. Fujisaki's feelin' like shit right now, 'cuz Naegi meant a lot to 'im. And Ishimaru..." Mondo's expression changed. "He's too kindhearted. If I told 'im, he'd either think I'm makin' it up, or he'd try to argue with Monokuma and get 'imself in trouble. I can't do that to 'im."

_Do I ask it? Nah, that's personal. I mean, I really want to know, but...nah, better not ask it._

"Is Taka your boyfriend?"

_Shit._

There was an incredibly tense moment where Mondo just stared, as if unsure how to react. Hagakure was on the verge of pleading for his life on hands and knees when Mondo did something unexpected.

He laughed.

"Really, man? That's what ya wanna talk about?"

"Please don't kill me," Hagakure squeaked.

"It's fine, I'm not mad. And no, we're not dating. I'm not gay." Mondo chuckled. "To be honest, Ishimaru's the reason I  _know_ I'm not gay. I'm not the kinda guy who goes after someone just 'cuz they're cute, y'know? I have to like 'em as a person. If I were into guys, Ishimaru would be, like, number one. But I'm not into 'im like that, so nah, we're just bros." He leaned back in his chair and said, "Anything else super personal ya wanna ask me?"

Hagakure groaned. "My brain does stupid things sometimes."

"We've been in here for weeks, man. We all know that about you."

Hagakure allowed himself a smile. It occurred to him that this was quite possibly the most normal, easy conversation he'd had since this whole nightmare began. 

If only it hadn't taken Naegi's death to come to this.

His smile faltered. There was something else that he'd forgotten to ask. "What do you plan to do about the trial? Celes was sorta right, we can't really do anything now."

Mondo's expression darkened. "I have an idea. I just need a couple of favors from ya. First, I need ya to make some predictions for me. Tell me if my plan'll work."

Hagakure nodded. "Anything else?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna need ya to provide a distraction."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I'm so sorry this took so long. In my defense, I started college, and that leaves very little time to write fun things (and way too much time writing essays. So many essays...) 
> 
> Hopefully my writing style hasn't changed too much. I kept meaning to continue this, but I wasn't sure how to end it. I had a number of scenarios that I just couldn't choose from...but I think I've figured it out. 
> 
> If you're still with me after the stupidly-long hiatus, thank you. You deserve cake or something.


	10. The Best-Laid Plans

The predictions were made in the sauna, where Monokuma couldn't see or hear them. Mondo asked questions, and Hagakure ran them through his crystal ball.

"So what's it say? Is it gonna work?" Mondo asked.

"I can't really tell. The energy in here is interfering with my readings," Hagakure replied. "Let me see..."

If he concentrated hard enough, he could see the scenario. He tried again, just to make sure. And again, and again...

"They're all coming up positive!" Hagakure said. "Not a single hitch in the plan!"

Mondo let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. Okay, you ready?"

"Um...not really. Run it by me again, what are you going to do?"

"Seriously? Didn't you just see it?"

"I saw the outcome."

Mondo sighed again. "Okay, for the  _last time_. The vent in the sauna is bigger than the vents in other rooms, and it's not bolted as securely. If I'm careful, I can crawl through the ventilation system and find the room where the mastermind is controllin' Monokuma."

"How do we know the mastermind is in this building?"

"We don't, but there has to be a reason certain areas are restricted. At the very least I can look at those areas. If the mastermind is in here with us, they need air just like the rest of us."

"What if there's a separate ventilation system for the mastermind?"

"This is a fucking school, Hagakure. They're not gonna have stuff like that."

Hagakure rubbed the back of his neck. "How long do I need to distract 'em for?"

"No idea. Just give me as long as possible."

"There are so many ways this could go wrong. I've only got, like, a thirty percent success rate on these things..."

"Yeah, but ya ran it, like, ten times, didn't ya?"

"Yeah..."

Mondo stood up. "Then that's enough. Let's get started."

* * *

"Hey, Monokuma!" Hagakure yelled in the direction of a camera. "Hey, I have a question!"

"You called?" came a voice from behind. Hagakure whirled around to see Monokuma.

"Where the heck did you come from?"

Monokuma giggled. "Ask and you shall receive! So what did you need?"

"Uh...I, uh..."

"What's going on out here?" 

Hagakure was beginning to regret his choice of location. He was standing right outside the cafeteria, and it only now occurred to him that it was lunchtime. And he'd been speaking rather loudly.

So now Togami was standing in the entrance to the cafeteria, with the rest of the students peering out from behind him. 

_Shit. Gotta think of something fast!_

"Um...I was, uh..."

Monokuma tilted his head to the side. "If you don't have a question, you shouldn't waste people's time, you know."

"Wait! I, uh...how would I die?"

That gave Monokuma a pause. "What was that?"

"If I were to m-murder someone. What sort of execution would I get? J-just curious!"

_Dammit, brain!_

Celes made a face. "What sort of sick, twisted person would want to know that?"

"It's official," Yamada said. "Hagakure Yasuhiro-dono has gone mad!"

Monokuma seemed to grin wider, if that was even possible. "Now, why would I spoil the surprise? If I tell you how you'd be executed, it won't be very interesting when it happens!"

Hagakure scrambled for a reason. "Um...well, if we were, hypothetically, to get a trial wrong, and then everyone but the culprit were to die-"

There was a collective recoil from the other students, and angry murmurs.

"-If that were to happen, you'd probably kill me last, right? Since I've been trying to prevent people from dying, and all that. To, like, rub it in my face that I failed! Yeah!"

_Where did that come from? Oh, well, as long as it works..._

While Hagakure fought an intense shiver, Monokuma tapped his chin. "Hmm...that's an excellent point! The only person around to witness it would be me and the culprit. And  _you_ would have to sit through the ultimate show of despair!" Monokuma cackled. "Well, if that's how you want to play it, I accept!"

"What? No, I--!"

"You wanna know how you'll die? I've put a lot of thought into it!"

"Um, on second thought..."

"Picture this," Monokuma began, and despite themselves, all the students seemed to lean in, morbidly intrigued. "A game show. Lights, camera, action! Today's contestant is a self-proclaimed oracle, with a thirty percent accuracy rate! Let's put it to the test, folks!" Monokuma danced around, motioning to invisible props. "Here we have three doors, labeled A, B, and C. Behind two of these doors lies safety, but  _one_ of them holds a one-way trip to a horrible execution!"

Hagakure blinked. "You...you'd give me a chance to survive?"

"But wait!" Monokuma continued. "Our contestant tries the first door, but it runs away! Too bad! He tries the next one. Oh, no, the same thing happens! What terrible luck! So then, of course, the only remaining choice is the third door. But it looks like our contestant is refusing to open the final door! Well, then, the only thing left is to-"

Suddenly, Monokuma came to a complete halt. Mid-sentence, mid-gesture, the robotic bear simply ceased to function.

Warning bells went off in Hagakure's head. Desperately, he shot a glance at his classmates, who were just as dumbfounded as he was. Chihiro had started shaking.

"Hey, uh, Monokuma? What gives? You can't just leave us hanging like that..." Hagakure tried. 

Monokuma abandoned the gesture-in-progress and tilted his head. "How interesting." Then he was silent for a few more minutes before chiming out, "Please assemble in the auditorium for an emergency meeting! That means all of you!"

Before the words were even out of the bear's mouth, Hagakure was sprinting for the gym.  _Shit, shit, shitshitshitshitSHIT!_

Because there was only one explanation. And even though he knew it was too late, there was a part of Hagakure that desperately refused to give up hope.

* * *

The sight they were met with was almost incomprehensible.

There was a giant robot in the gym. It had the head of Monokuma, but the rest of it had a distinctly transformer-esque look to it, albeit still vaguely bearlike. In one of its claw-hands was Mondo, wearing only a tank top and shorts, struggling in vain to loosen the iron grip around his torso. The robot turned its head in the direction of the students.

"Upupupu! Are you surprised? I've been waiting for an excuse to use my Monobot!"

"What are you doing to Kyodai?" Ishimaru cried. "Let him go!"

The Monobot laughed again. "Sorry, Ishimaru-kun, no can do! You see, Oowada-kun broke a very important rule. He attempted to assault the mastermind!"

A collective gasp went up from the students. Hagakure stared in horror.  _That wasn't part of the plan. This wasn't how things were supposed to go!_

"Kyodai?" Ishimaru whimpered. "Why...why would you...?"

"She was right there! I--GAH!" Mondo's words were cut off as the Monobot tightened its grip. 

"Nuh-uh-uh, Oowada-kun! You can't go spoiling things for everyone!"

"You're...fulla...hot air, y'know that?" Mondo choked out. 

Ishimaru had started crying. "Kyodai, please! You'll only make it worse!"

"It's a bit late for that," Togami said callously, adjusting his glasses. "We all saw what happened to Enoshima when she attacked Monokuma."

The Monobot sighed. "What a shame. I had such an exquisite execution planned for you, Oowada-kun! Something straight out of a folktale! A real wild ride!" It cackled to itself. "Part of me wants to use it anyway! But fair's fair, and you  _did_ break one of my most important rules! It wouldn't be fair to Enoshima-san if  _you_ got a glorious death!"

The robot lifted Mondo higher, a horrible gleam in its eyes. "So this'll just have to do! Any last words?"

Mondo's gaze floated over Hagakure, then landed on Ishimaru. "Sorry, aniki."

Suddenly, Hagakure's vision whited out. He wasn't in the gym anymore; he was in the changing room outside the sauna, and there was the white-haired version of Ishimaru with fire in his eyes, yelling at Yamada, and then there was blood, so much blood...

Something shoved at his elbow, jostling him out of his vision. Yamada was moving past him, faster than Hagakure would have thought possible. Looking up, he saw the Monobot tightening its grip on Mondo. Ishimaru was crying out, lunging forward with his arm outstretched.

Then he found his way blocked. Yamada stood in his way, hands locked on Ishimaru's shoulders to hold him back, completely obscuring Ishimaru's view of what was going on behind him. Chihiro turned away at the last moment, unable to watch.

But Hagakure found that he couldn't look away. There was a sickening  _CRACK_ as the Monobot snapped Mondo's spine, crushing him into a bloody pulp. Mondo's face twisted in agony, but no screams could be heard; there was no air in his lungs. As Mondo's lifeless body fell to the ground, one thought ran repeatedly through Hagakure's brain.

_I failed again._

He wanted to be sick. He thought he probably would be, but stronger than the nausea was the urge to just pass out. His vision started to swim, the ground seemed to be coming much closer...

Then there were nails digging into his shoulder on one side, and a tight, vice-like grip on the other, and he was hauled to his feet. He wobbled slightly, still looking directly at the body of his friend, lying in a spreading pool of blood. Then he felt a tug at his shoulders, and he was being turned around.

"Don't you dare fall asleep here," Togami hissed in his ear, tightening his grip.

"I doubt that  _they_ would make it through another such execution," Celes said on his other side.

As he was being dragged out of the gym, Hagakure became aware of screaming and yelling. He looked to his right and saw Yamada struggling to usher Ishimaru out in a way that would prevent him from seeing the body. Ishimaru was pummeling Yamada with his fists, tears pouring down his face.

"Let me see him! Let me  _see him!_ " 

Chihiro, looking incredibly pale, was leaning heavily on Asahina. He flinched every time Ishimaru screamed, as if he were being stabbed over and over again.

"Yamada-kun!" Celes barked, her usually serene features screwed up in anger, _"Shut him up_ _!"_

Yamada responded by flipping Ishimaru around, hoisting him up, and using one hand to cover the hall monitor's mouth while keeping him lifted with the other. Ishimaru began thrashing wildly, his flailing legs coming dangerously close to certain sensitive areas of Yamada's body, but Yamada held fast.

Hagakure allowed himself to be led out of the gym, down the hall, and past doors he didn't even bother to identify. It was only when they reached their destination that he snapped to attention and threw himself backwards, out of reach of his classmates.

"No! I'm not going in there!" 

Celes and Togami frowned at him; Yamada, too busy dealing with Ishimaru, continued walking, with Chihiro and Asahina close behind.

"Why not?" Celes asked.

"Because that's..."

He couldn't say it. He couldn't explain why he didn't want to enter, why the very idea of entering made him want to throw up.

The last time he'd spoken to Mondo, they'd been in the sauna's changing room. And the white-haired Ishimaru in his vision, and the blood...

Hagakure couldn't bear the thought of going there so soon after what he'd just seen, but he also didn't have the strength to resist. The edges of his vision were turning black again, and when Togami and Celes grabbed him again, he found he couldn't bring himself to pull away.

They dropped him on a bench next to Asahina, who was still trying to comfort Chihiro. Ishimaru was curled up in a corner, bawling, with Yamada standing nervously nearby, unsure of what to do. No one had ever seen Ishimaru like this before.

 _Naegi would know what to do_.

The thought came unbidden, completely out of nowhere. Another wave of some unspeakable emotion washed over Hagakure. Without warning, he slammed his fist into the bench as hard as he could.

 _"FUCK!"_ he shouted. He hard a squeak from his left side, but was too busy doubling over in pain, clutching his right hand and muttering, "Ow, ow, ow..."

_That was stupid. Why am I so stupid? Why can't I get anything right?_

"H-Hagakure-kun?" Chihiro asked quietly.

Hagakure looked up and realized he was suddenly the center of attention. Ishimaru was still crying, but even he had quieted down at the unexpected outburst.

"You have some explaining to do, Hagakure," Togami said, stepping in front of Hagakure with his arms crossed. "So start talking."

"Togami," Asahina growled, standing up, "this is  _not the time_."

"This is precisely the time," Togami argued. "We all saw Hagakure acting strangely before we were summoned to the gym. Clearly, he knows something about what just happened, and I, for one, want answers."

"Is this true?" Ishimaru asked, scrambling to his feet. He took small, wobbly steps toward Hagakure. "Y-you know what happened? You know why Kyodai--"

"Ishimaru-kun," Chihiro said, reaching out for his friend. Ishimaru just pushed the hand aside, then shoved Asahina out of the way as he lunged to take handfuls of Hagakure's coat, yanking him halfway off the bench.

"Tell me! Tell me what happened, tell me why Kyodai had to die! Why? Why did he do it?  _Tell me!"_

"Stop it!" Asahina cried, yanking on Ishimaru's arm. "Ishimaru, stop it!"

And, miraculously, he did stop. He stared at Hagakure, not moving until a drop of water fell on his hand.

Hagakure wasn't even aware he was crying until Ishimaru withdrew his hands, looking at the teardrop resting on his thumb as if he wasn't sure it was really there. He looked back at Hagakure, and simply asked, "Why?"

"I'm sorry," Hagakure near-whispered. "I'm so, so sorry, Ishimaru, I didn't--"

A sob blocked his throat, and he buried his head in his hands. He felt an arm wrap around him and a head rest on his shoulder--Asahina must have sat down again. He heard an irritated sigh from Togami, and a shushing sound from Celes, and then he just let himself cry.

He'd failed Mondo. Just like he'd failed Kirigiri, Fukawa, Sakura, and Naegi. Like he'd failed Enoshima and Maizono and Kuwata. He'd tried so hard to protect them, but all he'd done was get other people killed. 

_If I'd just started earlier...if I'd tried harder...if I'd done more, would they still be alive? Would we be out of this nightmare? Could I...could I have prevented all of this_ _?_

When no more tears would come, he felt strangely heavy. Someone handed him a glass of water, and he drank it without really registering what it was. Asahina rubbed his back a bit.

"Are you ready to talk?" Togami asked. 

"You bastard," Asahina spat.

"No, it's...it's fine," Hagakure said. He took a deep breath. "Mondo had a plan. He wanted to try and find the place where the mastermind was controlling Monokuma from, and he needed me to distract them while he got there through the ventilation system. He also...he also had me make predictions. Wanted to know if his plan would work or not."

"And what did you tell him?" Celes asked.

"I told him what I saw--that it would work. Every prediction had him coming out unscathed, every single one!"

Ishimaru made a choked noise. "You mean...you mean he wouldn't have gone if--"

"If Hagakure hadn't erroneously informed of him of the plan's success," Togami finished.

"I didn't know!" Hagakure cried. "If I'd have known, I'd never have...I promise!"

"This isn't your fault, Hagakure," Asahina said.

"It  _is_ my fault!" he protested. "I've only got a thirty percent accuracy rate, I should've been more careful with--"

"Why?" Ishimaru interrupted. "Why would Kyodai risk his life like that?"

Hagakure looked down at his hands. "Mondo had...discovered something. Y'know how Monokuma said that Naegi was voted guilty by a margin of one?"

Togami narrowed his eyes. "I fail to see what that has to do with anything."

"Well, the thing is, four of us voted him innocent. Mondo, Chihi, Taka, and myself. That's four out of eight of us, because Hina couldn't choose and voted for herself."

Celes frowned. "That's impossible. I voted him innocent, too."

"As did I," Togami said.

"Me, too!" Yamada exclaimed. "Does this mean...?"

"It means someone is lying," Togami insisted. "Monokuma has stuck to the rules of the game the entire time, and I have no reason to think he would break them now."

"It was Naegi," Asahina murmured. "After Kirigiri, he constituted the biggest threat."

"But, the rules--"

"The rules have been broken," Celes said, her voice taking on a sinister tone. "They no longer hold any meaning. Nothing Monokuma-san says holds any meaning now."

"Sounds like Oowada Mondo-dono was right to attack the mastermind!" Yamada said. "But he failed...does that mean...it's hopeless?"

"Not exactly," came a small voice.

Everyone turned to look at Chihiro, who was standing away from the group, holding open a locker. He removed a bundle of cloth from it and brought it to the bench. Then he extracted a long, black garment from the pile.

Mondo's coat. 

It was much larger than Chihiro, brushing the ground even though the programmer held it up as high as he could, looking at it as if searching for answers. There was a steely glint in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

"Ishimaru-kun," Chihiro said. "Take this. Oowada-kun would have wanted you to have it."

Ishimaru grasped the coat as if it were a lifeline, burying his face in it and sobbing. Chihiro took the rest of the clothes back to the locker, shut it, and then marched out of the changing room.

"Monokuma! I need to talk to you!"

A small smile stole over Celes' lips. "I see. How interesting." And she, too, exited the changing room.

The group slowly followed. By the time they had all assembled, Monokuma was standing in the center of the hall, with Chihiro and Celes looming over him.

"A what? Are you sure?" Monokuma asked.

"Quite," Celes replied. "I trust you find the terms reasonable?"

"Well..."

"What have you got to lose?" Chihiro asked. "You'll get to choose what clues you leave out for us. Everything will be in your favor."

"Hmm..." Monokuma rubbed his chin. "What the heck, why not. It's a deal! But you'll have to get started soon if you want to have enough time to gather evidence!"

With that, the bear disappeared. Chihiro turned around and grinned at his classmates.

"What just happened?" Hagakure asked.

Celes replied, "Fujisaki-kun has just arranged the final trial."

"But there hasn't been a murder!" Yamada said. "We have nothing to investigate!"

Celes rolled her eyes. "Of course we do."

"The person responsible for the murders of Enoshima Junko, Naegi Makoto, and Oowada Mondo," Chihiro said. "In other words, the true identity of the mastermind."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope all of this made sense? This wasn't entirely where I was expecting the chapter to go. Also made a few updates to the last chapter, because I realized I miscounted the number of students present at Naegi's trial. Oops.
> 
> So yeah, this is either the third-to-last or second-to-last chapter. I don't know about you, but I'm excited! And a little sad...
> 
> Hopefully everyone doesn't seem super OOC. This was not an easy chapter to write. But wow, is it long.


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